Roses in a Glass Vase

Most flower pieces of the time mix many kinds of flowers, often ones that bloom in different months. Jacob van Hulsdonck, working in Antwerp in the first half of the 1640s, chose only roses, and the Mauritshuis points out that this is why the bunch looks so much more natural than most. There are full garden roses in pink, red and white, closed buds on long stems, and at the top a spray of sweet briar, a wild rose with flat open flowers. He painted it on a small sheet of copper, whose smooth surface let him work very fine. Water drops sit on the leaves and on the table, a fly has landed beside the glass, and a cockchafer beetle crawls along the other side. The Friends of the Mauritshuis bought the painting in 2016 and lend it to the museum.