Dutch School, Bouquet of Flowers with Butterfly in a Glass Vase, Oil on Canvas, 18th Century, Relined, Framed

The rose is the only thing in the picture that holds the light. Everything behind it goes to brown, and the butterfly on the ledge is the palest note in the lower half.

Oil on canvas, relined, 14 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches (36 x 29 cm), 18 1/2 x 15 1/4 inches (47 x 39 cm) framed, unsigned. Dutch School, second half of the eighteenth century, in a gilt frame.

A short glass of water stands on a stone ledge, holding a rose, two blue morning glories, white narcissus, a marigold and a tall spike of white and pink flowers rising above the rest. A white butterfly with dark tips has settled on the ledge to the right of the glass. The bouquet is lit from the left against a plain dark ground, and the water in the glass catches a thin line of the same light.

The canvas is relined and stable, with a fine craquelure across the whole surface and scattered small losses in the thinly laid dark ground.