Maria van Oosterwijck
We start our special month with the floral still lifes of the Rijksmuseum with this beautiful Vanitas of Maria van Oosterwijck. A special month means we will have a special focus on the museum's collection in the app and on our social media—don't forget to follow our Instagram and Facebook accounts!
Maria van Oosterwijck (1630–1693) is one of the most important female Dutch painters of the 17th century, alongside Judith Leyster and Rachel Ruysch. She was one of the few 17th-century Dutch artists to achieve international fame for flower still lifes during her lifetime. Her impressive roster of clients included the King Louis XIV of France, King Jan III Sobieski of Poland, Cosimo III de' Medici of Tuscany, and Emperor Leopold of Austria. Van Oosterwijck left a relatively small oeuvre, perhaps due to her approach to painting: one contemporary wrote that she took her time with her paintings because of the “neatness and elaborateness” of her painting practice.
Van Oosterwijck specialized in flower still lifes, and a bouquet of flowers has a central role in this Vanitas painting, a work of art that urges the viewer to reflect on the vanity of worldly life in the light of approaching death. She depicted a variety of other objects in the painting, including a Bible, a skull, a jewelry box and two tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. These elements convey profound religious significance, and the work occupies a crucial place in her body of work. The artist grew up in a devout environment (both her father and her grandfather were church ministers) and according to a contemporary, she was "extraordinarily religious" herself. It is notable that Van Oosterwijck explains the meaning of the picture on the sheet of paper in the foreground.
P.S. If you love floral still lifes like Maria van Oosterwijck's, take a look at our Flowers in Art 50 Postcards Set. Featuring beautiful flower paintings from different periods and countries, it's a celebration of the many ways artists have captured the beauty and symbolism of flowers. :)
P.P.S. Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals—many male painters of the Dutch Baroque are considered some of the most famous artists in art history. But what about women? Meet the amazing women artists of the Dutch Golden Age!