Floral Still Life. Poppy Plant with Butterfly

Typical of Broeck’s work are his meticulous rendering of leaves and the addition of insects or lizards to enliven the picture. The various stages of the dominant poppy (Flemish Antique) allude to the transience of life on earth. The animals are painted realistically and with great delicacy. Swallowtail, grove snail and lizard sit on or under the plants; a tiny beetle can be seen on a white rose which, together with colourful flowers such as forget-me-not and sweet pea, fill a basket in the foreground on the right. Broeck achieves a perfect rendering of nature. His work appears real, so that the viewer almost forgets that this is an art-work – similarly to trompe l’oeil painting.

DUCKE Astrid: Elias van den Broeck, Floral Still Life. Poppy Plant with Butterfly, object description for the exhibition "Masterworks. Residenzgalerie Salzburg" (23.2.-3.7.2022)