We are delighted to offer this flawless pair of 18th century Flemish flower paintings by the seldom seen Flemish painter, Georg Frederik Ziesel (1756-1809). He was first recorded working in Antwerp in 1780 where he exhibited at the salon and thereafter in Ghent. Later in his career, he travelled to Paris where he painted alongside a fellow Netherlander, Gérard van Spaendonck, one of the leading flower painters of his generation. As is the case with this pair of floral still lifes, Ziesel typically worked on panel to achieve highly finished paintings, with rich colours and contrasts, and delicately balanced compositions characteristic of the Flemish still life tradition.
Exceptionally, Ziesel was also known to have made flower paintings on glass, as seen in this example which was with John Mitchell Fine Paintings in 2012 (oil on glass, signed and dated 1784, private collection, USA). Another fine flowerpiece on glass by Ziesel can be seen in the picture collection at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire.
These finely observed Old Master flower paintings demonstrate Ziesel’s remarkable attention to botanical detail and his refined approach to 18th century still life painting, a tradition for which Flemish and Netherlandish artists were particularly celebrated.