Still-Life of Flowers

Dezallier d’Argenville (1680-1765, a lawyer to the Parlement de Paris, secretary to the king and author of the book entitled The Theory and Practice of Gardening, wrote about him: “This talented artist is respected by all lovers of painting. As a rule his work is fresh and perfectly conveys what he is depicting, so that you can be almost certain the only thing missing among his beautiful flowers is the scent, which they appear to give off. He is a great master, a favourite of the Muses, who paints everything from nature. He is capable even of depicting the dew which is deposited in the morning on the flowers and remains for a while during the day.”