American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists

This lot is accompanied by a copy of the letter from Dr. Judith Hansen O'Toole confirming its authenticity.

Provenance:

Private Collection, New York.

By descent to the current owner.

Lot Note:

Severin Roesen, one of America's preeminent early still life painters, created the present magnificent still life circa 1862-1872, when the artist lived in Williamsport, Pennsylvania and enjoyed the patronage of the newly rich, predominately German community engaged in the lumber industry. Anxious to celebrate the natural abundance of the New World, the population in central Pennsylvania responded positively to the lush images of fruits and flowers produced by Roesen. Painted in the still life tradition of their homeland, the artist was trained in Cologne and his compositions resonated with the Victorian mindset of new Americans.

Pure floral still lifes such as the present work are rarer than the artist's fruit compositions or his combined fruit and flower compositions. The presence of the signature executed in red paint is also important, as the artist only signed fewer than one quarters of his compositions. The exuberant composition is filled with flowers so plentiful they have fallen from the vase, or perhaps never made it into the ensemble, as if the arranger had ben distracted in mid-action. The bird's nest containing three eggs, the number of the artist's children, is a popular fixture of Roesen's still lifes.

Also typical to the artist, the flowers are presented in a shallow, dark picture plane in a glass vase situated on a dark marble tabletop. The fresh, brightly colored blooms stand out against this background. Cabbage roses, morning glories, and peonies are all favorite devices of Roesen, who composed them into a crescendo of color from bottom to top. The precise rendering of detail and texture throughout the canvas, along with the smoothly blended forms and colors are all hallmarks of the artist's techniques. Floral Still Life is emblematic of the artist's hyper-realistic approach to the still life tradition.