Vase of Flowers

Pérez Sierra's flower paintings were appreciated by some of the most distinguished collectors of his time, including the king himself. On the death of Charles II, the 1700 inventory of the Buen Retiro palace mentioned a series of six flower pieces by his hand, of which four are known today, the painting shown here is one of them. These works show the distinctive personality of this artist in the genre. Their low viewpoint endows the flower pieces with a degree of monumentality and reflects the fact that they were conceived for display over windows or doors, or another such high point on a wall.

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