Vase of Flowers in a Stone Niche

The edge of the stone niche seems to project forward, the glass teeters on its edge and Roelant Savery’s signature appears to have been chiselled into the stone, an illusion we call trompe l’oeuil.

The still life has a ominous feeling, because Savery left a big part of the picture in shadow, he let sharp thorns climb up the centre of the bouquet, and he included a few creepy crawlies, such as a rhinocerous beetle. Savery seems to indicate that potential danger might be lurking around the corner, even amongst the most beautiful of flowers.