Roses, peonies, poppies, carnations, guelder roses and other flowers in a sculpted terracotta vase on a stone ledge

Born in Antwerp in 1625, Hieronymus Galle became a pupil of Abraham Hack in 1636 and a master in the local guild when he was twenty. In 1661, Galle sojourned in Rome for a year, but is recorded back in Antwerp, where he died, in 1679. Dated works by the artist from 1650 to 1667 survive, allowing for a reconstruction of the painter’s distinct stylistic development as he moved away from the example of Jan Brueghel and Daniel Seghers and began to embrace the work of Italian artists like Paolo Porpora and Michelangelo de Campidoglio, even modifying his signature from 'HIERONIMO GALLE f’ to the more Italianate ‘GIROLIMO GALLE’. In Rome Galle also came into contact with the art of Abraham Brueghel, whose influence is apparent in the present work. Fred G. Meijer has confirmed the attribution to Galle and pointed out that the present work likely dates to c. 1661-1662, probably during the artist’s time in Rome and at the height of his Italianizing style.

We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer of the RKD, The Hague, for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.