ERNST STUVEN (Hamburg c. 1657 – Rotterdam 1712)
Roses with a Butterfly, Bluebottle and a Snail on a Stone Ledge
oil on canvas
14 1/8 x 12 1/8 inches (36.1 x 31.1 cm.)
PROVENANCE
Peter de Boer Kunsthandel, Amsterdam,
2006 European Private Collection
Ernst Stuven began his studies in Hamburg with the still life painter George Hinz. In 1675 he followed the portrait painter Johannes Voorhout from Hamburg to Amsterdam where he became his pupil. Wanting to concentrate on fruit and flower painting, he switched to studying with Willem van Aelst, and later Abraham Mignon. His works became well known in Amsterdam, and pupils included Willem Grasdorp, Gregorius Albertus Matsenius, Herman van der Mijn, and J.W. Windtraken. At the end of his career, he worked in Rotterdam.[1]
Museums in which Stuven’s works formed part of the permanent collections include those of the cities of Arnhem, Cincinnati, Hamburg, London, Lodz, New York, Prague, Rotterdam, and Sibiu.
In this work light streams in from the left, illuminating a beautiful asymmetrically arranged bouquet of flowers atop a marble ledge. Flowers, leaves, and buds spill over the ledge into the foreground of the painting. It is a celebration of natural beauty, while also noting its impermanence. The butterfly is a symbol of transition. The snail and ants will hasten the flower’s decay, while the inclusion of the fly underscores the point. Already leaves have begun to curl and brown at the edges, with others displaying holes. The drops of water that cling to a few leaves will soon evaporate.[2] Such gifts are not to be taken for granted.
Dr. Fred G. Meijer, upon first hand inspection, has confirmed the painting to be by Ernst Stuven, and believes it to have been executed circa 1680.
[1] Biographical information taken from Adriaan van der Willigen & Dr. Fred G. Meijer, “Ernst Stuven” in Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-Life Painters Working in Oils 1525 – 1725, Primavera Press, Leiden, 2003, p.192; and “Ernst Stuven” on rkd.nl (RKD Explore).
[2] “The Secret Language of Still Life” at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, crystalbridges.org.