Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase

Gustave Courbet had previously painted less than a handful of flower pictures, but during a stay in western France he took up the genre with enthusiasm. Intending to visit his friend Étienne Baudry for two weeks, he arrived at the garden enthusiast’s château in May and remained in the area for eleven months, exploring flower painting with the encouragement of his host, who put his extensive gardens, greenhouses and botanical library at the artist’s disposal; Courbet painted about twenty flower pictures, remarking to a friend, “I am coining money out of flowers.” His exposure to Dutch flower painting during a visit to Holland in 1847 is evident in the arrangement, which shares the exuberant spontaneity and abundance of Jan van Huysum’s Vase of Flowers: like his Netherlandish forebears, Courbet chose flowers that bloom at different times of the year — lilies, roses, gladioli and more. The painting is held in the J. Paul Getty Museum.