This early 20th-century still life by Belgian painter Herman Courtens (1884-1956) depicts an abundant arrangement of flowers tumbling from a dark vase. Courtens was an accomplished painter of figures, interiors, and still lifes.
It's an unusual arrangement - several blooms are already beginning to wilt. Heavy flower heads bow under their own weight, leaves disappear into shadow, and loose petals have fallen across the table. To the left, another fading bloom lies separately beside the vase.
Yet there's little sadness here. Instead, Courtens seems to revel in the flowers precisely because they're beginning to come apart. Petals twist, crumple and fold, creating innumerable opportunities for his brush. Some blooms are described with thick passages of cream, pink and ochre, while others are barely suggested by a few rapid strokes emerging from the darkness.
It's a wonderfully painterly approach. Look closely, and individual flowers begin to dissolve into marks; step back, and the entire bouquet comes together.
This was characteristic of Courtens. Writing about him in L'Art Belge in 1920, critic Marcel Wyseur described the artist's enthusiasm for the “matière truculente” of warmly coloured flowers, which he painted “en large pâte” - in broad, substantial paint. This work demonstrates precisely what he meant.
Courtens has also resisted the temptation to brighten the setting. The vase is almost swallowed by the surrounding darkness, its glossy surface revealed principally through a handful of brilliant reflections. Behind it, stems and leaves appear and disappear against a deep brown-black background. Even the tabletop is subdued. The flowers consequently seem to emerge from the shadows.
Courtens was the eldest son of the celebrated Belgian landscape painter Franz Courtens, yet consciously established an artistic identity of his own, turning frequently to figures, intimate interiors, flowers and still lifes. Paint itself became central to his approach, particularly when describing flowers, fabrics, fruit and other tactile subjects.
He exhibited extensively in Belgium and abroad and later became Director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. His works are represented in numerous public collections, including the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp and the Groeninge Museum in Bruges.
Signed in the lower left and held in a later frame.
Learn more about Herman Courtens in our directory.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 31” x 39” / 79cm x 99cm
Year of creation: c. 1910
Provenance: Private collection, Belgium.
Condition: Cleaned. Revarnished. Craquelure throughout. The paint layer is stable. Frame in excellent condition.
Artist’s auction maximum: £4,719 achieved in 2023 for ‘Artiste Dans Sa Loge’.
Our reference: BRV2325
