A BLOOMING marvellous art exhibition exploring the development of Dutch flower painting is coming to Compton Verney.
Dutch Flowers is a brand new touring exhibition running in partnership with the National Gallery in London and will be stopping off at the South Warwickshire-based art gallery at the end of October.
The exhibition features ten masterpieces and will take art lovers on a journey through the development of Dutch flower painting from its origins in Northern Europe in the early 17th Century, through the height if its popularity in the Dutch Golden Age and into its final flowering in the late 18th Century.
Nine of the paintings are on loan from the National Gallery with another from a private collection. They include works by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, Rachel Ruysch and Jan van Huysum.
The exhibition at Compton Verney will be supplemented by a final gallery, ‘Listening to Flowers’, which will feature work by female contemporary sonic artists produced in response to the paintings in the exhibition.
Dr Amy Orrock, Senior Curator at Compton Verney, said: “We are delighted to be able to show these exquisite paintings at Compton Verney. Our creative programme regularly explores links between humans and the natural world, and the new commissions that are being developed for this show will encourage visitors to think more deeply about the pictures on display and about our connection to nature today”.
While Dr Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, added: “The exhibition is an opportunity to admire the exquisite skill of Dutch flower painters over a period of nearly 200 years, from 1609 to 1789. They are paintings of astounding quality and beauty, often rich in symbolism and historic interest”.
Dutch Flowers runs at Compton Verney art gallery from October 29 to January 15.
