Mixed Flowers in a White Vase, 1861
Oil on canvas Martin Johnson Heade, American, 1819–1904 9 1/8 x 15 in. (2019-015:1)
Heade here included two tiny leaves that have recently fallen to the table, suggesting that the process of decay is occurring before our eyes. And though one might view this bouquet of flowers as realistic, it is anything but. It is highly unlikely that Heade ever observed all these blossoms at one time, including as they do the roses and heliotrope he painted regularly, but having now added specimens from Europe to the Malaysian rainforest. Moreover, all these flowers could not possibly have fit into the narrow-necked vase. This is a painting of heightened realism, and a work in the finest Romantic tradition.