Roelant Savery Flower still-life 1603

A total of twenty flower still lives by Savery is known. This and an identical version signed and dated by Savery in New York are the earliest by Savery and the earliest dated flower still lives from the Northern Netherlands. At first sight this bouquet seems to have been painted from life. However, it is composed of plants that flower in different parts of the year. The bouquet is lit from different angles, so that more depth is created. The colors are bright and light. Until 1982 the date was read as 1601 or 1604. In 1982 Segal was the first to read it as 1603. An almost identical version on copper measuring 32 by 23 cm, signed and dated similarly is in the collection of F. Petschek in New York.