Dahlias, nasturtiums, bourbon roses, poppies, astras and buttercups in a copper ewer with plums, grapes and peaches on a marble ledge

A painter and lithographer of still lifes with flowers and fruits, Hendrik Reekers was born in Haarlem. He was a pupil of both his father Johannes Reekers and of Georgius van Os and studied at the Drawing School in Haarlem from 1830 to 1834. He himself was to become a teacher of drawing, working in Haarlem and in Brussels.

The form and content of the present work is inspired by a symbolism rooted in scientific humanism and Christian ethics. As was often the case, the meticulously observed flowers are arranged in a vase inspired from the antique. They are depicted with fruit resting on a marble ledge, a bug and two butterflies. On the vase appears a Bacchic scene in low relief, a subject that is appropriate to the veiled symbolism of fertility conveyed by this work.