1620 Oil on oak, 185 x 209,8 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich Religious flower still-lifes are a special category, first developed by the Fleming Daniel Seghers, a pupil of Jan Brueghel the Elder. However, this can be traced back to Rubens's Madonna in Floral Wreath (in which the floral decoration was painted by Jan Brueghel the Elder). This represents a picture within a picture with an authoritative religious significance, encircled by a floral arrangement and cherubs. Unlike Seghers, however, Rubens did not quote Mary and Jesus as historical traditions or pictorial relics. Instead he preferred to give the impression that they were physically present, even though the motif of a picture within a picture would have been ideally suited for illusionist stylization. Artist:RUBENS, Pieter Pauwel Title: Madonna in Floral Wreath, 1601-1650, Flemish , painting , religious |