ROESEN, Severin (Prussian-American,1816-1872). Still Life with Strawberries and Flowers.

ROESEN, Severin (Prussian-American,1816-1872)
Still Life with Strawberries and Flowers
Oil on canvas
35" x 45" canvas

This gorgeous Victorian oil painting by Severin Roesen is considered one of the finest of the still-life genre. Though Roesen was widely acclaimed for his work during his lifetime, it wasn't almost 100 years after his death that his paintings were brought back to the attention of the larger public by First Lady Jackie Kennedy, when she hung several of his paintings in the newly refurbished White House. This vibrant still-life is a splendid example of this important artist’s work.

Roesen's complex, lavish still-life paintings of fruit and flowers established the tradition for the genre in 19th-century America as well as the style for large canvases suitable for dining-room decoration. These works reveal his training as a painter of enamels and china with their crisp drawing, bright colors and smooth surfaces. This particular painting anticipates Roesen's fully mature style, exhibiting his synthesis of 17th-century Dutch still life, the Düsseldorf Academy's sharp naturalism and the era's strong interest in botany. 

The composition of the painting unfolds across the canvas, drawing the eye to the center where a cream colored marble dish sits brimming with strawberries. The fruit seems to spill over the edge of the elegant dish, and into the viewer’s space. To the left of the strawberries, a gorgeous arrangement of flowers is gathered in a vase, which is also filled to capacity. Flowers flow onto the table, unable to squeeze in with the rest. On the right, Roesen depicts luscious grapes, a peach , and small pears. The fullness of the painting evokes a sense of abundance; a theme in many of his rich still-life paintings. 

Born in Germany, Severin Roesen exhibited in Cologne in 1847 and is thought to have studied in Düsseldorf. Originally trained in the decorative arts tradition as a painter on porcelain, Roesen developed a style which included a great attention to detail and an interest in brilliant color. The artist emigrated to the United States in 1848, where he lived, worked and exhibited in New York City until 1852, when he moved to Pennsylvania, and settled eventually in Williamsport. Roesen is a painter known for his abundant fruit and flower still lifes and is today recognized as one of the major American still-life painters of the mid-nineteenth century.