An Arrangement with Flowers

One could almost say that the art of painting had run in Georgius van Os's blood. Born at The Hague in 1782 he, as well as his brother and sister, became successful artists in their own right under the tutelage of their renowned father, Jan van Os. Georgius, in particular, embraced his father's specialty of floral still-life painting. Unlike his father who produced his flower pieces from preparatory studies, however, Georgius chose to paint his botanical models directly from nature in their appropriate season. Such still-life paintings as An Arrangement with Flowers appealed to collectors on several levels, ranging from the botanical to the moralistic. It should not be forgotten, however, that within the tradition of Dutch floral painting a primary goal for the artist was that of rivaling Nature herself in all Her realistic detail, right down to the dewdrops that glisten on stems and petals.