Bouquet with Lilacs, Poppies, and Hollyhocks

ca. 1790

Aubert Parent French, 1753-1835

On View

Era of Revolution, Level 3, South Wing

Bouquet with Lilacs, Poppies, and Hollyhocks

Bouquet with Lilacs, Poppies, and Hollyhocks: 1 of Collection Gallery

Bouquet with Lilacs, Poppies, and Hollyhocks: 2 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

Aubert Parent carved this extraordinary relief from a single panel of lindenwood. The wood—also known as limewood or basswood and distinguished by its soft, easily worked density and barely visible grain—had been favored by European woodcarvers since the Middle Ages. Parent took full advantage of his material’s inherent properties; by deeply undercutting the relief, he conveyed the illusion of full-round sculpture, and the delicate vertical striations he cut to create the corrugated backdrop reduced the thickness of the panel to an 1/8 inch. Every flower is rendered with absolute fidelity, and the stems of the lilacs, poppies, roses, hollyhocks, hyacinths, and peonies are gathered into a great bouquet tied with a twisted ribbon. Despite his prominence in his day, few of Parent’s panels have survived. However, this one appears exactly as he intended: surrounded by a carved and gilded frame and showcased in its original finely burnished giltwood and ebonized frame and case.
From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)

Title Bouquet with Lilacs, Poppies, and Hollyhocks

Artwork Date ca. 1790

Artist Aubert Parent

Life Dates 1753-1835

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Lindenwood

Dimensions Overall: 18 3/4 × 15 1/2 × 3 1/4 inches (47.6 × 39.4 × 8.3 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department European Sculpture and Dec Arts

Credit Museum Purchase, Bernard J. Reilly Fund, Katherine Tuck Fund, Visiting Committee for European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, and with funds from Joanne and Richard Brodie

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2006.146

Markings

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Provenance

private collection (central France);
(Adrian Sassoon, London, England);
2006-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Darr, Alan. P., Brian Gallagher. "Recent acquisitions (2000-2006) of European sculpture and decorative arts at The Detroit Institute of Arts." The Burlington Magazine 149, no. 1251 (June 2007): p. 453, (pl. 15).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Aubert Parent, Bouquet with Lilacs, Poppies, and Hollyhocks, ca. 1790, lindenwood. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Bernard J. Reilly Fund, Katherine Tuck Fund, et al., 2006.146.