French or Flemish school; Last third of the 18th century.

French or Flemish school; Last third of the eighteenth century.
"Pair of vases".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 117 x 112 cm (x2).
This pair of vases, dated in the last third of the 18th century and attributable to the stylistic environment of the French or Flemish School, constitutes a representative example of the decorative eighteenth-century taste for the floral still lifes presented in complementary pairs. Both compositions show two vases of classical style, placed in the corner of a window, which stand as the central axis of the scene. The window, treated as an architectural resource, not only frames the main motif, but also introduces a spatial depth that enhances the sculptural presence of the vases and their floral content.
The vases, similar but not identical, are arranged symmetrically, reinforcing the idea of an intentional ensemble, conceived to be contemplated as a decorative diptych. The Greco-Latin-inspired vases serve as a support for an abundant and varied flora, treated with technical meticulousness and remarkable attention to detail. The flowers, which vary between the two compositions, present a chromatic richness and botanical variety characteristic of the Flemish tradition, where naturalism is combined with an aesthetic idealization of the motif.
The contained chiaroscuro and the nuanced lateral light allow us to appreciate the texture of the petals, the brightness of the stems and the subtlety of the shadows cast, showing a technical mastery that refers both to the heritage of the Dutch still life of the seventeenth century and to the more ornate evolution of eighteenth-century French painting.