Art to Heart Praise

Jan van Huysum: Still Life with Flowers

©2002 by Jeff Dugan

In the 16^th century, Dutch and Flemish painters elevated still life paintings from what had once been a lowly status into the realm of masterpiece.  Focusing on incredible realism and detail, and sometimes using paintbrushes made with just a single hair, they created wondrous images, among the most wondrous of which were floral portraits like this one. 

But Jan van Huysum (pronounced “yahn van hai-sum”), studying the achievements of the still life painters before him, became the greatest of them all.  His mastery of detail was equal to the best, but no other painter had van Huysum’s ability to capture such a lush, exuberant celebration in the profusion of blossoms and foliage.  No one was as eloquent as van Huysum in expressing the great, riotous joy of life’s abundant richness.

No matter how generously the thesaurus is poured out here, no words can express van Huysum’s euphoria as well as a good look at his art. 

These Dutch and Flemish floral still lifes had for a long time incorporated a moral message.  Prior to van Huysum, it was common for such a painting to contain numerous leaves chewed by insects, fruits beginning to rot, or the occasional blossom beginning to wilt.  The implied message was a reminder of the transience of life; that as beautiful as it could be, it would soon be over. 

In this painting, though, we see no imperfect blossoms or leaves.  What we do see, at the top of the painting, are three butterflies.  

The butterfly, as a symbol of transformation and new life, naturally also speaks about the transience of life, though not in terms of doom, but in terms of good news.  The butterfly reminds us of our hope that our short lives will not end in decay, but in resurrection to even greater glory.  Safe in this knowledge, we are now free.  No longer bound by fear of the future and grasping frantically for the good times while they last, we can rest securely in the moment.  We can celebrate with van Huysum the great treasure of the fully abundant life of faith.

We tarry here only a short time, but our future is secure, and with that future secured,  how glorious it can be while we’re here!  This is good news indeed.

Leader: The glory of creation sings praises to its creator.

Congregation: Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.*

 Leader: As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.*

Congregation: But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children.  Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. *

Leader:  We, who reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Leader and congregation: Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord , O my soul.

* Ps. 111:2, Ps. 103:115-117, Philippians 3:20-21, 2 Cor. 3: 17-18, Ps. 103:22