Jean-Michel Picart

It has been suggested that Picart, who was born in Antwerp in 1600, was trained in one of the studios of the Francken family before moving to Paris in 1635.¹ It has here that he built a reputation as both a dealer in pictures and as a flower painter. Claudia Salvi had described this still life as characteristic of the mature work of Picart, comparing it to a floral still life signed and dated to 1653 and preserved in the Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe.² A similar composition to this painting, with a few minor alterations, was sold in 2019.³

¹ A. van der Willigen and F.G. Meijer, A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-life Painters Working in Oils, 1525–1725, Leiden 2003, p. 160.

² C. Salvi, D’après Nature: La Nature morte en France au XVIIe siècle, Tournai 2000, p. 103; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Michel_Picart_-_Blumenstilleben_-_2603_-_Staatliche_Kunsthalle_Karlsruhe.jpg

³ Anonymous sale, Koller Auctions, Zurich, 29 March 2019, lot 3072.