Bouquet of Flowers in an Earthenware Vase c. 1610

Jan Brueghel the Elder made this painting of flowers in an earthenware vase using oil on panel. Unlike fresco or tempera, oil paint allowed for an incredible level of detail, as we see in the minute rendering of each petal and stem. Brueghel was renowned for his flower paintings, and the virtuosity of his brushwork is evident in the textures he creates – the velvety softness of the petals, the cool smoothness of the vase. The making of paint itself was labor-intensive, involving grinding pigments and mixing them with oil, and the artist's skill lay in manipulating this medium to create an illusion of reality. Of course, this bouquet is not at all real. It is impossible to have all of these flowers in bloom at the same time. Brueghel’s paintings were intended for an elite clientele, demonstrating not only his artistic skill but also his patrons' wealth and refined taste. This was an era in which the Dutch controlled global trade routes. The painting itself is a kind of commodity, a luxury object made possible by a complex web of economic and social relations.