Jan van Huysum, 'Hollyhocks and Other Flowers in a Vase', 1702-20

Pale flowers glow in a soft light against the dark wall of an anonymous room. Pink hollyhocks flaunt dozens of tiny petals. Delicate white poppies face out towards us, the yellow pistil holding our gaze like a tiny eye. Above them a tall stem curves upwards, fat little buds clinging on to it, their pink tips held tight by the green sepals till they burst into flower. All these flowers nestle against enormous leaves. Each vein, each frilled edge turning brown in places, is made almost tangible by the minute detail of the artist’s brushwork.

The flowers that surround them – violas, primulas, harebells and convolvulus – merge into the shadows, partly to make a frame for the hollyhock and the white poppy, partly to give depth and form to the bouquet. Van Huysum shows the fiery red poppy turned away to reveal grey sepals, shielding the paler flowers from a brilliance that would take attention away from them. On the right, two ragged looking sunflowers are virtually lost in darkness, their shadowy presence serving to balance the composition in answer to the broad leaf, itself half in shadow, on the right.

An African marigold droops over the edge of the table as if exhausted, almost as if reaching for the drop of cool water nearby. A snail makes its way up the nearest leaf, leaving a silvery trail behind it. A tiny ant hurries down towards the shade of the curled-up leaf. Another ventures, finely balanced, along the spine of the leaf above. A second snail raises its feelers in exploration, its grey, spiralled shell catching the light like the dewdrops on the table beside it – they‘re all painted in similar colours yet are, in the hands of van Huysum, very different textures. Beyond the snail, a small patch of light reassures us that the stone ledge continues beyond the half-hidden vase, again giving depth and substance to the image.

This is van Huysum painting early in his career. He lived in Amsterdam, the centre of culture, trade and scientific exploration – especially in horticulture. He had access to the main plant nurseries in both his home town and in Haarlem close by, and grew specimen flowers in his own garden. Dramatic lighting against a black background to display the new cultivated flowers was fashionable in painting and van Huysum became one of the most sought after artists in the Dutch Republic.

Like other artists, his interest lay in showing specimen flowers regardless of the season. The primulas, hollyhocks and sunflowers in this painting wouldn’t all be in bloom at the same time. He worked from sketches and drawings kept meticulously ready for each new painting that he made, sometimes for sale on the open market, sometimes on commission. As fashions changed, van Huysum changed; his arrangements became less tightly packed, his colours and backgrounds lighter and less dramatic. He became successful internationally, with an aristocratic clientele, but always showing the flowers he knew and loved with the same delicacy, skill and artistry displayed in this picture.