Flowers in a Vase 1834

J.L. Jensen, a Danish artist, created this still life painting, Flowers in a Vase, with oil on canvas sometime in the first half of the 19th century. The abundant arrangement speaks to the interests of the rising bourgeois class in Denmark. Still life as a genre rose to prominence as a demonstration of a patron’s wealth, education, and taste. The varied flora included in this arrangement are more than just decorative; they reference the increased trade routes that were established during this period. These types of paintings also coincided with the growth of botanical science, and public interest in the natural world. What can the historian bring to an image like this? Looking at auction records, merchant shipping logs, and the writings of contemporary cultural critics can all shed light on the networks of exchange that made this image, and the society that valued it, possible.