“Flowers in a Jug”
“Flowers in a Jug” is an oil on oak panel painting by the Northern Renaissance German artist, Hans Memling. It was painted circa 1485, near the end of Memling’s life, and is an early example of a still life painting.
Memling paints a bouquet of irises, columbines, and lilies in an Italian maiolica vase that displays Christ’s monogram. The flowers are thought to represent the Virgin Mary; she is represented as the Queen of Heaven via the irises, and as purity via the lilies. The jug still life is set atop an Oriental rug.
Interestingly, rugs like the one in this painting came to be known as Memling rugs because of the frequency with which they appeared in his work. Memling painted this on the back side of another piece of art. The painting on the front side may be the left wing of a diptych or triptych and displays a portrait titled “Portrait of a Young Man at Prayer“.
For most of the nineteenth century, “Flowers in a Jug” was in the private collections of the Scottish Dukes of Hamilton, passed down through his family for generations. In 1936, it came into the ownership of the Duchess of Montrose, from whom the Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza acquired it.
“Flowers in a Jug” is currently on display at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, Spain.
For more on Hans Memling, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
