Four masterpieces by Jan van Huysum

Abstract

Over the summer, three masterpieces by the greatest 18th-century Dutch painter Jan van Huysum (1682-1749) have been generously loaned from two private collections and brought together with the Gallery’s own Vase with Flowers (DPG120). These paintings, two of which form a rare pendant pair, reveal Van Huysum’s pivotal role in the development of the flower and fruit still life. Four Masterpieces by Jan van Huysum is accompanied by a special booklet that contains information about the artist and his style, as well as a short essay on the collecting of Van Huysum by the prominent Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Liotard and the Gallery’s founders, Sir Francis Bourgeois and Noël Desenfans. The booklet is beautifully illustrated with images of the works and close ups of the finely painted flowers and fruit, while each painting also includes a numbered layout detailing the wide variety of plants and insects depicted. - Exhibition: Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, UK (1.7.-28.9.2014).