Lot 56
Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer(Lille 1636-1699 London)A still life of tulips, chrysanthemums, poppies and other flowers in an urn on a stone ledge; and A still life of a fritillary, tulips, chrysanthemums and other flowers in an urn on a stone ledge (2)
3 December 2025, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£30,000 - £50,000
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Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (Lille 1636-1699 London)
A still life of tulips, chrysanthemums, poppies and other flowers in an urn on a stone ledge; and A still life of a fritillary, tulips, chrysanthemums and other flowers in an urn on a stone ledge
a pair, oil on canvas, ovals
77.5 x 62.5cm (30 1/2 x 24 9/16in). (2)
a pair, oil on canvas, ovals
77.5 x 62.5cm (30 1/2 x 24 9/16in). (2)
Footnotes
Provenance
Sale, Sotheby's, Monaco, 26 May 1980, lot 549
Sale, Sotheby's, London, 9 December 1992, lot 91 (as Franco-Flemish School, 18th Century)
Private Collection, by whom sold
Sale, Sotheby's, London, 4 December 2008, lot 274
Where purchased by the present owners
At the time of the 2008 sale, Claudia Salvi confirmed the attribution to Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer on the basis of photographs.
The leading French flower painter of the seventeenth century, Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer worked alongside Louis XIV's court painter, Charles Le Brun (1619-1690), on the decorative schemes of several royal palaces, such as Marly, the Louvre and Versailles. Celebrated for his sumptuous depictions of elaborate floral arrangements, his talents caught the attention of the English Ambassador to France, Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu. At the Duke's invitation, Monnoyer moved to England in 1690 to work on the decoration of Montagu House in Bloomsbury, London. He enjoyed great success in London, carrying out the work for royalty (he was employed by Queen Mary II and the young Queen Anne) and aristocracy, decorating places such as Boughton, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, and Kensington Palace. Monnoyer remained in London until his death in 1699.
The present pair of still lifes are typical of Monnoyer's crowded but closely cropped compositions with the flowers filling the picture plane and set against a simple, dark background.