page_title: Carstian Luyckx
section_title: Flower and garland paintings
hierarchical_section_title: Carstian Luyckx / Work / Flower and garland paintings
context_page_description: Carstian Luyckx, also known as the Monogrammist KL, was a Flemish painter and draughtsman who specialized in still lifes in various subgenres including flower still lifes, fruit still lifes, fish still lifes, pronkstillevens, vanitas still lifes, hunting pieces and garland paintings. He also painted animals and a few genre scenes. After starting his career in Antwerp he is believed to have worked later in France.
context_section_description: Carstian Luyckx painted flower paintings as well as garland paintings, a special type of still life developed in Antwerp at the beginning of the 17th century by Jan Brueghel the Elder in collaboration with the Italian cardinal Federico Borromeo. 
  Other artists involved in the early development of the genre included Hendrick van Balen, Andries Danielsz., Peter Paul Rubens and Daniel Seghers. The genre was initially connected to the visual imagery of the Counter-Reformation movement. It was further inspired by the cult of veneration and devotion to Mary prevalent at the Habsburg court (then the rulers over the Southern Netherlands) and in Antwerp generally).  Garland paintings typically show a flower garland around a devotional image, portrait or other religious symbol (such as the host).  Garland paintings were typically collaborations between a still life specialist and a figure painter.
  Luyckx painted a number of garland paintings.  In a few of these the cartouche was painted later by an unknown hand.  An example is the Cartouche with Flowers (Princeton University Art Museum), which shows a flower garland around a portrait of Peter Paul Rubens painted at a later date by an unknown artist. This may be an indication that the painting had remained unsold during his lifetime. Luyckx rendered the flowers with such specificity that they can be identified easily. They are a combination of familiar Western European garden plants such as carnations and columbines as well as exotic varieties from the Orient, including the pink damask rose and the tulip. Luyckx included the rare parrot tulip, an extremely expensive variety at that time.
caption: Still life of roses hanging from a blue ribbon with a red admiral and a cabbage butterfly
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