A study of Calla Lilies, an Iris and Wildflowers

This composition relates to a group of flower studies in oil on paper produced by Anne Vallayer-Coster alongside the larger and more elaborate still lifes on canvas for which she was best known. Encouraged in such direct studies after nature by her early mentor Joseph Vernet, the artist used these sketches as a working repertory, returning to individual flower types and groupings within her finished compositions (R. Rand, 'Anne Vallayer-Coster. Washington and Dallas,' The Burlington Magazine, CXLIV, no. 1196, November 2002, pp. 714-715). Three open calla lilies — among the artist's favored motifs — anchor the composition against a deep, neutral ground, with subsidiary sprigs of iris, poppy and other wildflowers disposed loosely across the field. The handling moves between the broadly brushed petals of the callas and the more finely observed iris below, a calibrated alternation between la manière heurtée and la manière fondue that has been identified as a defining feature of Vallayer-Coster's still-life technique.