Skip to Content

17th Century European Art

Showing 1 of 1

  FILTER RESULTS
Print this page
Image of Vertumnus and Pomona

Vertumnus and Pomona

ca. 1640
38 1/4 x 45 1/4 in. (97.2 x 114.9 cm)

Govaert Flinck
Netherlands (Cleve, Holland, 1615 - 1660, Amsterdam, Holland)

Object Type: Painting
Medium and Support: Oil on canvas
Credit Line: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Frank W. Lovejoy, Jr.
Accession Number: 1983.10
Location: Currently on view
Link to this object

This painting illustrates a myth from Ovid’s Metamorphosis. Pomona, a nymph who presided over gardens and fruit trees, had taken a vow of chastity and therefore rejected the advances of all suitors. Vertumnus, the Roman deity of orchards, persisted nonetheless. To gain her affections he disguised himself as a fisherman, a soldier, a peasant, and finally as an old woman.

Flinck was a student and follower of Rembrandt, so much so that the styles of the two artists were often confused. Flinck’s skill brought him enviable social and economic rewards and eventually he was honored with a commission to create twelve paintings for the civic hall of Amsterdam.

[Gallery label text, 2005]

Provenance
J. B. Le Brun, Paris (dealer); his sale, Le Brun, Paris, December 11-16, 1780, as lot 113, as by Ferdinand Bol (unsold or withdrawn); his sale, Le Brun, Paris, March 12, 1782, as lot 80, [as by Ferdinand Bol]; [per annotation, purchased at that sale by Le Brun; bought in?]; Charles-Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802), Paris; his sale, Le Brun, Paris, April 21, 1788, as lot 111 [as by Ferdinand Bol], purchased at that sale by Fontaine; Count Potocki, Paris, probably until at least 1959; sale, Christie's, London, December 16, 1977, as lot 138 [as by Flinck], under "The Property of a Lady"; H. Shickman Gallery, New York; purchased by the Gallery with funds provided by Dr. and Mrs. Frank W. Lovejoy Jr. in 1983

Keywords Click a term to view the records with the same keyword
17th century
women
Pomona
Roman
Vertumnus
Roman
Vertumnus & Pomona
Greek myth
1600-1800
paintings

Additional Images Click an image to view a larger version

Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:

Portfolio List Click a portfolio name to view all the objects in that portfolio
This object is a member of the following portfolios:
1600 - 1800
17th Century European Art
All Paintings
Objects with Incomplete Nazi-Era Provenance
Storytelling with Art
Women

Web Links See links to web pages and lesson plans
Vertumnus and Pomona Read the story of Vertumnus and Pomona from Bulfinch's Mythology.

Your current search criteria is: Portfolio is "17th Century European Art" and [Objects_1]Sort_Artist contains "Flinck, Govaert".

View current selection of records as:
CDWA Lite XML LIDO XML VRA Core 4 MODS XML Objects JSON