Paulus Theodorus van Brussel, Flowers in a Vase

Costly blooms like roses and tulips are tumbled together with humbler flowers like morning glory and marigolds, forming an exuberant, almost wild, bouquet. It’s as if nature is brimming over. Tiny insects burrow through the petals, while a cabbage white butterfly balances precariously on top. A bird’s nest looks like a precious bowl of sculptured feathers.

But the painting isn’t as spontaneous as it appears – it’s entirely artificial. These flowers are never in bloom at the same time; Paulus Theodorus van Brussel painted each from sketches made when they were. Most of all, he achieved the unkempt, haphazard look of the bouquet through careful design. The blue iris, one of the most prized blooms, takes centre stage, the single upright flower. It’s supported by a strong diagonal of flowers in paler colours, from the pink rose at the bottom on the left up to the striped tulips on the right at the top. This allows stems and smaller blooms to straggle seemingly at will, many of them overblown and dishevelled, helping to create an artful disorder.