# Still-Life with Shell Fountain and Flowers [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ESPINOSA, Juan de]() - Date: 1601-1650 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 65 x 48 cm ## Commentary Still-Life with Shell Fountain and Flowers c. 1645 Oil on canvas, 65 x 48 cm Private collection This painting represents a shell fountain in which the large conch shell filled with water acts as a vase for a floral arrangement of peonies, carnations, tulips and other blooms.Each petal has been carefully drawn with the brush and their sharply defined contours picked out in thin lines of light pigment. The foreshortening of the flowers is adequately handled, but in terms of skill falls short of the best flower painters of the time, who made a virtue of presenting a wide variety of blooms from different angles. The painting offers the viewer the refreshing sight of flowers and water, and appeals to the senses not only through the imaginary scent of the flowers, but also through the delightful sound of falling water. ## Related artworks - [Still-Life with a Shell Fountain, Fruit and Flowers]() - [Still-Life with Flowers with a Garland of Fruit and Flowers]() - [Still-Life with Grapes, Flowers and Shells]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()