Active in Namur ca. 1658 – 1661
A Still Life of Flowers in a Venetian Glass Vase with a Butterfly and a Dragonfly
Signed ‘FL: DURIEU, FECIT‘ | On the base of the vase
Oil on panel
H. 43,2 cm. W. 32,8 cm.
PROVENANCE
Private collection
REFERENCE LITERATURE
De Maere, J. Et.al. (1994). Illustrated dictionary of 17th century Flemish painters. Brussels, Vol. 1, p. 73
Toussaint, J. (2002). Portrait en Namurois. Namur, pp. 38-39
REPORT
With restoration report by De Groot Conservation & Restoration of Dutch and Flemish old master paintings | October 2024
CATALOGUE NOTE
We are grateful to Dr. Fred G. Meijer for his help in cataloguing this still life. During the restoration, this flower still life turned out to be the first and only known work by Florent du Rieu, a painter from Namur. Although known from historical records, until recently, not a single work by this painter was known. The restoration revealed the signature ‘F.L. DU RIEU FECIT‘ on the base of the vase. To date this flower still life is the only known work work by Du Rieu.
Florent du Rieu was a painter from Namur, who was active in the years 1658 – 1661. He is known to me at the RKD in The Hague under number 346416. It is known that in 1658 Du Rieu published a book Les tableaux parlans du peintre namurois, published by Pierre Gérard, with poems on paintings. In 1661, Du Rieu was involved in a lawsuit with someone from Calais about the rights to a house in Namur. Hence we can deduce that he was active in Namur, at least between the years 1658 and 1661.
Notable is that the painting is executed on a panel consisting of two sheets of reclaimed oak, as demonstrated by the partly removed gothic ornaments on the back. Given that the panel has been reused, it has been suggested that the painting may have been a master test. Of course the reuse may also have been the result of an economic choice.