Still Life of Flowers and Fruit
Severin Roesen, Still Life of Flowers and Fruit, 1870-1872, oil on canvas, Gift of Mary and Pete Mark, public domain, 2005.20
This work is on view.
- Title
Still Life of Flowers and Fruit
- Artist
Severin Roesen (German, active United States, ca. 1815-ca. 1872)
- Date
1870-1872
- Medium
oil on canvas
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
50 1/4 in x 40 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
signature: SRoesen, lower right
- Collection Area
American Art
- Category
Paintings
- Object Type
painting
- Culture
American
- Credit Line
Gift of Mary and Pete Mark
- Accession Number
2005.20
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
- Location
Still-life painting has been a traditional genre in American art since the colonial period. The 19th century brought a marked resurgence of interest in still lifes, when they were seen as symbols of both national abundance and personal prosperity following the Civil War.
Severin Roesen was known for his sumptuous and detailed floral still lifes in the tradition of the 17th-century Dutch- and German painters. Trained as a porcelain painter in Germany, Roesen immigrated as an adult to become one of 19th-century America’s most beloved still-life painters.
This work is a dramatic and unusual example both in its size and vertical format. It depicts flowers and decorative motifs seen frequently in Roesen's work, but also includes less often-seen elements such as the Lily of the Valley at center, and the hollyhock, which crowns the arrangement.
- Exhibitions
2019 The Mark Legacy Portland Art Museum
2023 Throughlines: Connections in the Collection Portland Art Museum
