Vase of Flowers
by HIEPES, Tomás, Oil on canvas, 115 x 86 cm
Hiepes has created an illusion of three dimensionality in the floral arrangement by showing the flowers in the middle of the composition projecting forwards and from a frontal view, and those towards the extremities of the composition in profile and some from a back view. However, a marked planarity in the composition is probably a consequence of his method of compiling the flower piece from separate studies, as if he had laid out the bouquet on a flat surface.
The images on the Italian vase depict scenes of a classical triumph. Similar images decorate the vases in other flower pieces by Hiepes. Three gilt figures of crouching nude slaves are trampled underfoot by the Roman emperor and appear to support on their backs the whole arrangement of flowers. The decorative splendour of the vase certainly makes it a suitable recipient for such a magnificent display of flowers.