Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (often referred to as ‘Baptist’ or ‘Old Baptist’) was the most influential flower painter of his generation, specializing in decorative compositions including elaborate vases. Born in Lille, in 1650 he was working on the interiors at the Hôtel Lambert, where he came to the attention of Charles Le Brun, the most powerful artist-impresario of the age. Through his influence, Monnoyer supplied designs at the Royal tapestry manufactories at Gobelins and Beauvais and paintings for major royal decorative schemes at Marly and Meudon. In 1685 Monnoyer was invited to England by the English Ambassador to France, 1st Duke of Montagu, to work on the decoration of Montagu House in London. He spent the rest of his life in England, also working for Queen Mary and Queen Anne at Kensington Palace. His son Antoine Monnoyer 1670-1747 (‘young Baptist’) continued to produce flower paintings in the same style. The Monnoyers were much imitated in France and England, which means that ‘Baptist’ is a name applied to any overdoor from the Baroque period with a flower in it. There were twenty one works by ‘Monsieur Baptist’ amongst the Consul Smith Collection acquired by George III in 1762 (Italian List nos 185-205) and numerous works attributed to ‘old Baptist’ and ‘young Baptist’ in other inventories. Of these twenty remain in the Royal Collection.

This is one of the sixteen Consul Smith ‘Baptists’ still in the collection; ten of them are described as ‘Young Baptist’ when hanging on the walls of Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace in 1785. They appear to be by the same artist, in the style of the Monnoyer dynasty, perhaps with something distinctive - acidic colour, somber tone and tangled profuse patterns. Consul Smith formed his collection in Venice during the period 1725-50, commissioning new and acquiring old in equal measure. He bought the Villa Mogliano in 1731 and the Palazzo Balbi in 1740; these groups of flower paintings may have been acquired at this time to decorate the walls of his newly acquired residences. It is possible that the 1785 inventory references are correct and that they were commissioned from Antoine Monnoyer; this is enough at least to justify a tentative attribution.

This comes from a set of four (Italian List nos 201-4) but it is the only one to remain in the collection. A green glass vase filled with flowers rests on a stone ledge, flanked by honeysuckle sprays; the flowers include multi-coloured, striped tulips, blue, pink and red chrysanthemums and striped pink and white roses.