Still-Life of Flowers and Fruits

Monnoyer was, in his prime in the 1670s, the foremost still-life painter in Europe, but his skill has been much underestimated in recent years, due to the proliferation of incorrect attributions to him. He specialized in flower pieces of the most elaborate design, although in the early part of his career he produced more conventional still-life paintings, such as the one in the Musée Fabre at Montpellier.

The painting was executed in 1665 and submitted to the Academy at the time of the painter's admission in the same year. Following the upheavals of the Revolution in 1789, it was deposited at Montpellier in 1804.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes): Franz Schubert: Blumenlied (Flower Song) D 431