Early Brabantson Tulip (folio 30)

Early Brabantson Tulip from 1643 by Leyster is part of a tulip book, a botanical record of prized tulip varieties during the continuing Dutch enthusiasm for the flower. These watercolor studies served practical purposes for bulb growers and collectors. Leyster executed her genre paintings in oil on panel with a direct unelaborated technique that achieves considerable luminosity through warm tonal glazing. After her marriage to Jan Molenaer in 1636 her documented output declines sharply, sugge...

The tulip is rendered with precise botanical accuracy, the distinctive petal patterns and colors documented with the careful observational skill Leyster brought to all her subjects.