Johan Laurentz Jensen

At the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, I. L. Jensen studied under C. W. Eckersberg (1783-1853) and the flower painter C. D. Fritzsch (1765-1841). In 1821, he decided to devote himself to the flower painting and went to Paris to study under the two Flemish brothers Gérard (1746-1822) and Cornelis van Spaendonck (1756-1840). After returning to Denmark, he was employed at the Royal Danish Porcelain Factory, where he among other things decorated porcelain plates and large ornamental vases for the Royal Family. I. L. Jensen became the leading flower painter in Denmark, and he had a large crowd of especially female students. His production ranges from flower pieces to fruit pieces, or a mixture of both, as in the present painting, to flowerpots, to wildflowers and simple flower studies. He painted both wild and cultivated flowers as close to reality as possible. The present painting is a fine example of how masterfully I. L. Jensen could reproduce all types of flowers to make them appear like in nature, for example the small blue cornflowers or the colourful hollyhocks behind the lavish basket, which abounds with fresh fruits.