(Gentofte, Denmark 1800–1856 Copenhagen)
An Overdoor, Garland of Spring and Summer Flowers, signed I. L. Jensen, oil on canvas, 53 x 152 cm, framed

The Danish Gilded Age, an era that lasted from around 1810 to 1850, was the backdrop for Johan Laurenz Jensen’s career. Despite the disastrous results of the Napoleonic Wars for Denmark, a rich cultural life flourished, enabling Jensen to establish himself as one of the leading Biedermaier still-life painters of his time. Inspired by 17th-century Dutch flower painting from a young age, Jensen developed a distinct style, reviving the art in Denmark and setting a standard that would remain unsurpassed. Following a formal education at the Danish Academy of Art, he later trained as a flower porcelain painter at the Manufacture de Sèvres in 1823. The latter singled him out among his contemporaries, for it is in Paris where he developed a precision and meticulousness which would define his style until the end of his career, setting the basis for his botanically accurate renderings of flowers and fruits.

Thus, Jensen specialized from an early stage mainly in flower still lives, capturing with his brush the spirit of his time. It is during the convulsed European 19th century that the bourgeoisie looked for respite in the comfort of their own homes, adorning them with painted arrangements of perennially blooming flowers. It was not only the appeal of bringing the beauty of nature indoors that made Biedermeier flower painting an immensely popular genre, but it was also appreciated both for their symbolic character and for the dexterity required to execute them. Such arrangements needed careful preparation and countless studies, due to the impossibility of finishing painting all the flowers before they withered. Emphasis was placed on paintings remaining true to nature, depicting only plants that would bloom during the same season and arranging them in such a manner that they would look as natural as possible, as if randomly placed in that position. Such harmonious and aesthetically pleasing compositions, which happened to be also botanically accurate, represented a tour de force for the artists and were appreciated as such by their customers. It is indeed telling that during the Biedermaier period, flower painting played a major role on an international level like never before.

The present lot, depicting a garland of spring and summer flowers and conceived by Jensen to be placed as supraporte, epitomizes the extraordinary elegance and keen eye for detail to be found in his still lifes and embodies the best of the Danish Gilded Age.