Tulips, peonies, roses, crown imperial, lilies, anemones, irises, carnations, sneak's head fritillary, forget-me-not, lily-of-the-valley, love-in-a-mist, cyclamen and other flowers in a terracotta vase, on a ledge with a butterfly and other insects

This opulent floral still life is the largest known painting by the German-born still-life painter Isaak Soreau. Resplendent with botanical variety and vibrant detail, the work is a significant departure from the majority of the artist’s oeuvre, which almost certainly accounts for its multitude of previous attributions; it had previously been given to other leaders of the genre, including Jan Brueghel II, Ambrosius Bosschaert and Osias Beert, before Soreau’s hand was identified in 1993 by Dr. Fred G. Meijer. The artist was born in Hanau in 1604, the son of still-life painter Daniel Soreau. Fairly little is known of Isaak’s short life and very few of his works are signed or dated. He is documented in Hanau until 1626, but must then have travelled to Antwerp, as much of his work bears the unmistakable influence of the Antwerp painter Jacob van Hulsdonck, before returning to Frankfurt where he continued to absorb the lessons of the city’s leading still-life master, Georg Flegel.

A towering, lavish bouquet of flowers springs from an ornate terracotta vase. But amidst this botanical diversity, there is a meticulous orchestration at play, with each bloom carefully and deliberately set against a dark, sober background, accentuating the wealth of natural detail and imbuing the composition with a sense of visual harmony. Furthermore, Soreau’s creation combines flowers that in reality would bloom at different times of year and could not have been viewed simultaneously. This type of monumental floral still life was favoured by the wealthy and noble across Europe, with the expense and rarity of exotic cultivated blooms making their real and painted forms valuable and desirable. In keeping with the genre, Soreau pays homage to the vanitas tradition, whereby the viewer is reminded of the transitory nature of life through the handsome blooms that will eventually and inevitably wither away, along with the tiny butterflies and insects that alight precariously upon their petals.