A vase of flowers on a ledge with fruit, a caterpillar and a butterfly

A self-taught painter, Jan Frans van Dael moved from his native Antwerp to Paris at the age of 23 to concentrate on painting still lifes of flowers and fruit. He quickly gained widespread recognition; he was admitted to the Salon for the first time in 1793, and participated regularly thereafter until 1833. He received commissions for significant decorative work at the châteaux of Chantilly, Saint-Cloud, Bellevue, and Malmaison for Empress Joséphine (1763-1814). Beyond his painted decorations and canvases, van Dael also had a significant career as a miniaturist. Large drawings of flower arrangements like the present one are quite rare; one notable example, also executed in black and white chalk, is at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (inv. PD.308-1973).