How to paint a bouquet: MA-XRF analysis of 17th century Netherlandish flower still lifes from the Mauritshuis

Abstract

The Mauritshuis (The Hague, The Netherlands) owns a large collection of 17th-century still lifes, of which a significant portion depicts floral arrangements. As part of a still life cataloguing project, 19 of the flower still lifes have been examined using a wide range of scientific technologies, including MA-XRF scanning. This paper will discuss how MA-XRF analysis has significantly improved our understanding of the way artists prepared their compositions. It became apparent that there are several ways in which artists planned their painted bouquets. Early 17th-century still life painters such as Baltahasar van der Ast used detailed underdrawings, which they followed during the painting stage. Artists from Antwerp, like Daniël Seghers started their paintings by making ‘abstract’ compositions of coloured circles and ovals. This method was picked up by Jan Davidsz, de Heem, who was working in both Antwerp and Utrecht. De Heem's pupils Abraham Mignon and Maria van Oosterwijck used a similar method, but other still life specialists such as Van Aelst and Rachel Ruysch planned their compositions differently.