Isaak Soreau (Frankfurt-Am-Main 1604 - In or after 1645), Still Life of Roses, Tulips, a White Lily, Poppy Anemones, Narcissi, Carnations, Columbine, Hyacinth, Snowdrop, Cyclamen, Fritillary, Cornflower, Lily-of-the-Valley, Crocus, Forget-Me-Not and other flowers, in a glass beaker on a wooden table with Butterflies and Insects. 

oil on copper. 15 1/2 by 12 3/8 in.; 39.5 by 31.5 cm. Estimate 600,000—800,000 USD

NOTE: This impressive and elaborate still life is unusual in Soreau's oeuvre, in that it is one of the few vertical compositions by the artist devoted solely to the depiction of flowers in a glass beaker. In the majority of his compositions, which are horizontal in format, small floral bouquets complement lavish displays of fruit, placed in baskets, porcelain bowls, or on pewter plates (see for example, A Still Life of Fruit and Flowers...sold, London, Sotheby's, December 11, 1996, lot 25). However, in the present painting, the minute precision with which Soreau executes each individual flower is totally in keeping with the artist's technical mastery of still life painting and exemplifies Peter Mitchell's declaration that the artist paints with an "absolute perfection of finish and the most intense clarity" that "def[ies] verbal description."¹

The flowers in the present painting, as in Soreau's other still lifes, were painted on a white ground, and are locally built up of thin glazes only, allowing for the white ground to shine through, rendering an exceptional brightness to the flowers in question. Another characteristic of Soreau's handling is the rendering of the cyclamen leaf with a brightly outlined edge, resembling the teeth of a fine saw. The glass beaker with its bright highlights in the decoration of the glass is also a recurring feature in Soreau's paintings of flowers. The combination of these characteristics and motifs cannot be found in the work of any other artist, which, according to Fred Meijer, fully secures the attribution of this impressive flower painting to Soreau. The choice of copper as support allowed the artist to elaborate the paint layers even more smoothly than on panel, while the choice for copper, as a more costly material, underlines the importance of the painting, also in the eyes of its maker.

This is one of Soreau's larger and more complex flower still lifes. Although each of the flowers depicted here have a natural and life-like appearance, as though they have been painted after existing arrangements, the artist here used the aid of existing studies of individual specimen. For example, in the present work, the tulips recur in Vase of Tulips sold, London, Sotheby's, December 16, 1999, lot 18. Soreau actually used several sources for his flowers: some must have been studied from life, some were copied from paintings by other artists, and others must have been derived from examples in flower books or florilegia. One of Soreau's still lifes, exhibited Paris, Georges de Jonckheere, Miroir de la nature morte, December 1991, no. 18, is almost entirely dependent on Jan Brueghel the Elder's Still Life of Flowers now in Frankfurt, Städelsches Kunstinstitut. Soreau also borrowed motifs from Jacob van Hulsdonck for whose paintings his have in the past been confused (see, for instance, the picture sold, Amsterdam, Sotheby's, May 14, 2002, as by Soreau, which had been previously given to van Hulsdonck by Ingvar Bergstöm²).

The present picture shares characteristics with two other still lifes by Soreau devoted solely to flowers: the aforementioned Amsterdam picture, and another, sold, London, Sotheby's, July 7, 2001, lot 38. All three follow the convention of a frontal arrangement, in which the glass beaker is placed in the center of a wooden ledge that runs off the sides of the canvas. This extension of the ledge upon which the beaker rests creates an extremely balanced, structured, and harmonious composition that make the flowers stand out with ever more vigor, devoid of any atmospheric or background distraction.

We are grateful to Fred Meijer for recognizing that this painting is by Isaak Soreau, and for his help in cataloguing this painting.

1. P. Mitchell, European Flower Painters, London 1973, p. 239.

2. Ingvar Bergstöm, in a certificate dated Göteborg, April 12, 1982.

Sotheby's. Important Old Master Paintings, Including European Works of Art. 29 Jan 09. New York www.sothebys.com photo courtesy Sotheby's