VAN LEEN, Willem (Dutch, 1753-1825). Still Life with Roses, Iris, and a dragonfly.

VAN LEEN, Willem (Dutch,1753-1825)
Still Life with Roses, Iris, and a dragonfly
Oil on panel
Signed LL “Van Leen ft /1821”
13 3/8" x 10 1/4" visible


Willem van Leen was one of a number of gifted Dutch artists who worked and studied in Paris in the late 18th century. There he was influenced by his friendship with the Dutch painter Gerard van Spaendonck, Flower Painter to the King of France, and Redoute’s instructor. Despite the older artist’s support and influence, van Leen’s work exhibits a distinctive character. In Great Flower Painters, Peter Mitchell describes van Leen’s oils on panel as his finest works, admirable for their delicate palate and remarkable “softness of touch.”

In this small and engaging composition, van Leen embellishes the classic botanical still-life composition with the addition of a small dragon-fly. Van Leen’s Still-Life with Roses... is a fine and delicate painting by a master flower painter. Van Leen’s paintings are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England.