Jan van Os (Dutch, 1744-1808), Still Life with Flowers in a Wooded Landscape

Watercolor and chalk on paper laid on mount, signed on the plinth, presented under glass within an attractive carved and gilt frame.

Sheet size 12 1/2 x 9 in.; Frame dimensions 21 1/2 x 17 in.

Private Collection, California and North Carolina

Sotheby's, London, Fine Furniture & Clocks Including Property from Two Noble English Families, September 10, 2007, Lot 61

Jan van Os was the leading Dutch still life painter of the second half of the eighteenth century. Born in Middelharnis in 1744, he trained in The Hague under Aert Schouman and was established there as an independent master by 1773. He began his career painting landscapes and seascapes before turning to the opulent and minutely observed still lifes for which he became most celebrated, working in the tradition of his compatriot Jan van Huysum (1682–1749).

Van Os developed a refined style distinguished by luminous color and the precise rendering flowers, fruit, stone, insects, and birds with remarkable clarity and vitality, against an atmospheric background. Van Os enjoyed strong international demand. Beginning in 1773, he submitted paintings annually to the Society of Artists exhibitions in London, and his works continued to appear in nineteenth-century British exhibitions, including the British Institution and later the Royal Academy. As a result, many of his paintings entered important English collections. His artistic legacy also extended through his family, most notably his sons Pieter Gerardus van Os and Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Os.

Good estate condition; not examined out of the frame.