Jan Frans van Dael or Jean-François van Dael (27 May 1764 – 20 March 1840) was a Flemish painter and

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

specializing in

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

s of flowers and fruit. He had a successful career in Paris where his patrons included the Empresses of Empire France as well as the kings of

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

France. His work stands in the Flemish and Dutch tradition of flower painting with a sober composition and attention to detail to which he added a French-inspired decorative monumentality.Dominique Vautier. "Dael, Jean-François van." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 18 Jan. 2021

Life

Jan Frans van Dael was born in Antwerp as the son of a joiner.Jan Frans van Dael
at Richard Green Fine Paintings He studied architectural drawing at the Antwerp Academy. He won the Academy's first prizes for architecture in 1784 and 1785.Jan Frans van Dael
at the Netherlands Institute for Art History He travelled to Paris in 1786 where he resided there in the artists' accommodations at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, near artists Piat Joseph Sauvage,

Gerard van Spaendonck Gerard van Spaendonck (22 March 1746 – 11 May 1822) was a Dutch painter. Life Gerard was born in Tilburg, an older brother of Cornelis van Spaendonck (1756–1840), who was also an accomplished artist. In the 1760s he studied with decorative p ...

en Pierre-Joseph Redouté. From 1806 until 1813 he worked as a state-protected artist in a studio in the Sorbonne.Jan Frans van Dael, ''The House of the Artist''
at the

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...

He was originally active as a decorator and worked on projects at the châteaux of St. Cloud, Bellevue and Chantilly.Jan Frans van Dael (Antwerp 1764-1840 Paris), ''A vase of flowers with a bird's nest on a marble ledge''
at Christie's He became self-taught in painting. Under the influence of van Spaendonck he turned to flower painting. He regularly submitted work to the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

between 1793 and 1833 as well as to Salons in the Low Countries. Evidence of his success are the many commissions he secured from the Empresses Josephine (who owned five of his works) and Marie-Louise Bonaparte as well as Restoration kings

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

and Charles X. Van Dael was a member of the Academies of Antwerp and Amsterdam. He collected the works of flower artists, both by his contemporaries and the great 17th-century Dutch still life painters

Jan Davidsz. de Heem Jan Davidsz. de Heem or in-full ''Jan Davidszoon de Heem'', also called ''Johannes de Heem'' or ''Johannes van Antwerpen'' or ''Jan Davidsz de Hem'' (c. 17 April 1606 in Utrecht – before 26 April 1684 in Antwerp), was a still life painter wh ...

, Abraham Mignon, Rachel Ruysch and

Jan van Huysum Jan van Huysum (or Jan van Huijsum) (15 April 1682 – 8 February 1749) is the most notable member of the Van Huysum family of artists working in Dutch Golden Age of the 17th and 18th centuries; “by common consent, Jan van Huysum has been held ...

Interior of the Studio of Van Dael and his students at the Sorbonne by Philippe Jacques van Bree 2

His pupils were Jean Benner-Fries, Elise Bruyère, Laurent Coste, Vicomtesse Iphigénie Decaux-Milet-Moreau,

Henriëtte Geertruida Knip Henriëtte Geertruida Knip (19 July 1783 – 29 May 1842) was a flower painter from the Northern Netherlands. Knip was born in Tilburg as the daughter of the painter Nicolaas Frederik Knip. After her father went blind, she followed lessons ...

, Elisa-Emilie Le Mire, Auguste Piquet de Brienne, Christiaan van Pol, Adèle Riché, and Jean Ulrich Tournier. He spent his whole active career in France. He died in Paris in 1840 and was buried in the cemetery of Père Lachaise by the side of his friend van Spaendonck.

Work

Van Dael mainly painted still lifes of flowers and fruit. Some of these compositions include a background landscape. Van Dael also painted a landscape composition. Van Dael signed as 'Vandael' and monogrammed as: I V D, V D and VD connected. Jan Frans van Dael - The House of the Artist

Jan Frans van Dael - The House of the Artist

Van Dael's work stands in the Flemish and Dutch tradition of flower painting exemplified by

Roelandt Savery Roelant Savery (or ''Roeland(t) Maertensz Saverij'', or ''de Savery'', or many variants; 1576 – buried 25 February 1639) was a Flanders-born Dutch Golden Age painter. Life Savery was born in Kortrijk. Like so many other artists, he belonge ...

with its sober composition and attention to detail. He also brought to many of his flower arrangements a French-inspired decorative monumentality. Van Dael composed his flower-pieces with a variety of species, which he is believed to have studied from life. Van Dael's flowers were based on botanical study, and according to a contemporary botanist, van Hulthem, he grew flowers in his garden to serve as models. Van Dael applied a smooth gesso layer to his canvases, which allowed him to recreate the jewel-like quality of 17th century panels. He departed from 17th-century still lifes in his use of a lighter palette of pinks, blues and yellows. A number of his still life works were used to decorate small objects, such as boxes. The

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

possesses a collection of these boxes.Boxes decorated by Jan Frans van Dael
at the Fitzwilliam Museum Van Dael painted in 1828 a view of his house (

, Rotterdam), which is a small masterpiece. He further painted a few religious and allegorical compositions. One of his best known allegorical paintings is ''Julie’s Tomb'' of 1804 ( Château de Malmaison). It depicts a flower and fruit arrangement before a tomb and can be read as an allegory of life and death. Van Dael also made a few pure landscapes and occasionally painted portraits, often of fellow artists. He also made a few lithographs. File:Jan Frans van Dael - Still life of roses, peonies, tulips, auriculas, an iris and other flowers in an alabaster vase with fruit on a stone ledge.jpg, ''Still life of flowers'' File:Jan Frans van Dael - Julie's tomb.jpg, ''Julie's tomb''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dael, Jan Frans van Flemish landscape painters Flemish still life painters Flower artists Painters from Antwerp Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 18th-century Flemish painters 19th-century Flemish painters 1764 births 1840 deaths