Daniel Seghers circle; 17th century

Circle of DANIEL SEGHERS (Antwerp, 1590-2 1661); 17th century.
"Orla of flowers and the Holy Family".
Oil on copper.
Measurements: 40,5 x 28 cm; 51 x 37,5 cm (frame).
We see in this copper a typical composition of the baroque period. It is a scheme that combines a garland with a representation of devotional type in the interior. The author combines the genres of painting looking for a greater sumptuousness and a theatrical sense, almost trompe l'oeil, very much to the taste of Baroque painting. It should be noted that, in this type of composition, the flowers are not simply a secondary or accessory element, but are worked with the same care and quality as the central image. In fact, sometimes they even show a more skilled hand, since these works were often the result of the collaboration of a painter of flowers and another specialized in the human figure.
The son of a silk merchant, Seghers soon emigrated with his family to the Northern Netherlands, where he converted to Calvinism. He studied painting from 1605 and in 1611, on his return to Antwerp, he joined the Guild of St. Luke, after a period of apprenticeship with Jan Brueghel the Elder. In 1614 he again embraced the Catholic faith while entering the Jesuits in Mechelen as a layman, taking vows in 1625. From then on he signed himself as "Daniel Seghers societatis Iesu". From 1625 to 1627 he lived in Rome, and on his return to Antwerp he remained in his monastery, as a flower painter, until the day of his death. It is difficult to establish an evolution of his style, although a development from the simplest to the most complicated garlands is evident. The use of flowers and plants from the Netherlands grown in gardens relates him to painters such as Jan Brueghel, although unlike the latter he pays less attention to contours and more to transparencies and the combination of light and shadow. His floral arrangements always denote a previous preparation, while his garlands show a brilliant use of symmetry as a clarifying element of the composition. Common in his production are the garlands surrounding devotional images based on the work of Rubens.