Vase of Flowers in a
Niche
about 1732–36
Jan van Huysum, Dutch, 1682–1749
All of us have opinions about
ourselves, others, and the world around us, make up our personal
philosophy.
But how does
an artist translate his philosophy into his art?
In this series I will show you some
of the ways artists convey philosophy.
One of the elements that is
important for many painters is to simply paint what they see, in
effect saying: "look."
From Wikipedia
on philosophy of perception:
"Our
perception
of the external world begins with the
senses,
which lead us to generate
empirical
concepts
representing the world around us..."
17th Century Dutch painter van
Huysum has painted this floral still life with a tremendous
amount of detailed observation.
Much like a scientist, van Huysum
was intensely focused on his perception of these flowers. Notice
the differentiation of the flowers' colors, textures, sizes,
shapes, and details.
For this particular painting's
philosophy, it is safe to conclude that van Huysum believed
that perception was an essential factor.
I hope you enjoyed this observation.
Michael Newberry
New York, November 2008