Frans YKENS (Antwerp, 1601 - Brussels, 1693) Bouquet of flowers on an entablature Oil on oak panel, one plate Signed and dated 'Frances (...) ykens fecit'. (Restorations) Flowers bouquet on an entablature, oil on oak panel, signed and dated, by F. Ykens 19.68 x 14.96 in. 50 x 38 cm Provenance: Collection of William James Harris, 6th Earl of Malmesbury (1907-2000) ; His sale ; London, Christie's, 13 December 1985, n° 17 ; Anonymous sale; London, Christie's, 13 December 1986, n° 21 ; Private collection, Brussels A nephew and pupil of Osias Beert (1570-1624), Frans Ykens began his apprenticeship in 1615. After a trip to the south of France, to Marseilles and Aix-en-Provence, where he lost his way, he reappeared in his home town in 1630, rising to the rank of master of the Antwerp guild. He remained active there until 1665, when he moved to Brussels, where he ended his days in a precarious situation. Like the flower painters of his generation, he freed himself from the archaic conception taught by his master to adopt a liberated and elegant style, imbued with suppleness and subtlety, which can be seen in the work of Daniel Seghers (1590-1661) and Jan-Philip van Thielen (1618-1667). The panel presented here is typical of this elegant approach to still life painting, in which the artist says a great deal with very little. Giving a disorganised appearance to what is in reality constructed with great geometry, the artist plays on the assembly of species in a variety of colours, presented at different stages of their lives, to propose a spiritual reading of an object of the highest decorative quality. Frans YKENS (Antwerp, 1601 - Brussels, 1693) 50 x 38 cm A nephew and pupil of Osias Beert (1570-1624), Frans Ykens began his apprenticeship in 1615. After a trip to the south of France, to Marseille and Aix-en-Provence, where he was lost, he reappeared in his home town in 1630, rising to the rank of Master of the Antwerp Guild. He remained active there until 1665, when he moved to Brussels, where he ended his days in a precarious situation. Like the flower painters of his generation, he freed himself from the archaic conception taught by his master to adopt a liberated and elegant style, marked by suppleness and subtlety, which can be seen in the work of Daniel Seghers (1590-1661) and Jan-Philip van Thielen (1618-1667). The panel presented here is typical of this elegant approach to still life painting, in which the artist says a great deal with very little. Giving a disorganised appearance to what is in reality constructed with great geometry, the artist plays on the assembly of species in a variety of colours, presented at different stages of their lives, to propose a spiritual reading of an object of the highest decorative quality.