A Feast for the Eye
Still lifes with flowers and fruit are surely among the most popular genres in Dutch art. Few can remain untouched by the brilliant colours, the profusion of detail and the unparalleled rendering of texture with which these bouquets and fruits are made
almost tangible. The names of Golden Age specialists, painters such as Ambrosius Bosschaert, Abraham van beyeren and Jan Davidsz. De Heem, heve become bywords among art ethousiasts. Perheps less well known is that in Holland fine flower and fruit pieces
continued to be painted until well into the eighteenth century. A pair of pendants from 1779 by the Hague artist Johan Christiaan Roedig (1750-1801) - on show in our spring exhibition - are a case in pint.
Perfect pair
Because of the fine detail of these paintings, the viewer's first instinct is to walk up to these still lifes and try to view them from as near as possible. Close up, the eye can feast on the labyrinth of flowers, fruits, stems and leaves. Yet, it is only
when a certain distance is taken that it is possible to appreciate the build up. A delightful discovery, for example, is the way Roedig brings clarity to the variety of forms in these highly detailed paintings. But at the same time he is able to make the
two complex compositions work together. Both are constructed along diagonal lines, running from top left to bottom right in the flower still life and along the opposite line in the fruit still life. Clearly, the flowers are supposed to hang on the left
and the fruit on the right. Shown like this, the diagonals in the two compositions come together rather than verge apart, as when hung the other way round. The connection between the pendants is reinforced by the matching warmth of the colours. Moreover,
there is a certain interaction in the subtle detail. For example, a red flower, top left in the floral painting, with the back turned towards the viewer, is mirrored in the companion piece.
Composition
Roedig devoted great care to achieving originality in the design of the two paintings. In the floral still life, a cat has knocked over a vase containing a large bouquet, while chasing a mouse. This detail gives the painting a certain momentum and
liveliness. Some of the flowers have landed on the floor and floating in the middlc is a pink rose with a brokcn stem. As the vase tumbles, the flowers might be cxpectcd to scatter wildly, but the choreographer artist has ensured that the beauty of the
scene is retained. For example, he places a large red flower in each corner, while filling the centre of the bouquet is with smaller flowers, mainly in soft tints. Because of the limited use of overlapping, each flower can be admired to the full. The
various flowers are linked by the curved lines of the stems, giving the bouquet a visual unity. In the fruit painting the objects are arranged with equal care. Here it is the green of the grapes and the foliage that forms the connecting element. The
branches of the bunchs of grapes emphasize the structure of the diagonal composition, while the twisting stems of the flowers and leaves add a playful acccnt. The garden vase offers a delightful balance to the full basket and provides a welcome respite in
this dynamic composition.
Colour, light and tone
Gentle pastel tints, acccntuatcd here and there with colour, bring the flowers and fruit to life while the various recurring hues, like the red in the flowers and the green in the leaves, inject a sense of rhythm. Incoming light is reflected in details,
such as the dewdrops on some of the larger leaves, basking brightly in the warm light. The oblique light creates countless variations of colour making cach flower and fruit differcnt. But Roedig reveals his skill in the foliage too. Some of the leaves
have bright, luminous edges (for example, top right in the fruit painting), while on other leaves the change from light to dark is gradual. Because the forest landscape is painted in various tints of green in both still lifes, the colourful flowers and
fruits stand out against the monochrome background. In this way, the actual colours help achieve a sense of depth.
Rendering of texture and facture
Roedig has depicted the differences between thc; various textures of the objects with exquisite feeling for realism. The petals of the roses appear transparent, while those of the tulip are glossy and pliant. Among the fruits, the soft, veined inside of
the melon contrasts with the rough peel of the lemon, while the shiny skin of the grapes contrasts with the opened walnut's wooden shell. Roedig's eye for detail is evident in the numerous tiny crcaturcs, such as a caterpillar, a bumble bee, various
snails and groups of ants. In the bird's nest, too, each strav and feather is depicted with utmost prccision. All these features have been so realistically rendercd that it is hard to resist touching them. To achicvc this effect Roedig employed a highly
polished style of painting, applying the paint to the panel so smoothly that it is difficult to detect the brush stroke, even with a magnifying glass. Only with the lemon has thc artist changed his facture, employing blotches of paint to suggest the
texture of the lemon peel.
Hague painter
Not much is known about the artist who painted these delightful still lifes. One of the few reliable sources about Johan Christiaan Roedig is a letter from his son, preserved in the archives of the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD) in The Hague.
This letter dates from 1818 and is addressed to the artist biographer Adriaan van der Willigen who had published a history of Dutch painting in thc eighteenth century (Geschiedenis der vaderlandsche schilderkunst sedert de helft der XVIII eeuw) shortly
before. Roedig's son relates that his father was born in April 1750 in The Hague and died in that city in May 1801. He learned to paint under Dirk van der Aa and in turn taught Abraham Texeira de Mattos and Elisabeth Georgina van Hogenhuizen. In 1794 he
was appointed secretary of the Tekenacademie in The Hague, a position he was to keep until his death. Like Jan van Os, also of The Hague, Roedig specialized in still lifcs of flowers and fruit and apparently enjoyed a wide reputation in his own day. In
1783 the Russian Count Alexandr Sergeyevich Stroganov, a confident of Catherine II bought two paintings by the artist and gave these to the connoisseur empress. In fact, according to Roedig's son, much of the artist's work found its way to Russia; in
Holland his paintings could only be seen in a handful of Amsterdam and Hague collections. Of the few works known by the painter today, these two dating from 1779 are among his best.
Provenance
That the two paintings have remained together is quite remarkable. Usually, pendants become separated over the years, if only because thcy were more valuable when sold individually. Even more remarkable, their provenance can be traced back to shortly
after their creation. In 1791, during Roedig's own lifetime, they were sold at auction in Amsterdam and again, in the same city, in 1804 and 1816. From c. 1820 both works formed part of a private collection in the Netherlands, where they remained through
descent until around 1985. In the 1791 auction catalogue the two works are amply described. On the floral still life, for example, we read: ' This delightful composition in a courtyard scene depicts a decorously ornamented vase filled with [...] fine
flowers: the .same appears to be knocked over by a cat chasing a mouse, with flowers falling haphazardly making a splendid scene [...]; this piece is painted mith an especially clear and realistic and wonderfully detailed brush.' That praise reveals
something of the esteem in which Roedig's pendants were held by his contemporaries. Now, more than two centuries on, they remain a feast for the eye.