(Vienna 1810-1870)
Large Still Life of Thistle with Meadow Flowers and Butterflies, signed G. Seitz, oil on panel, 83.5 x 61 cm, framed, cradled, (Rei)

Provenance:
Viennese private property.

The practice of adopting a thistle as the subject of still life paintings was started by the Viennese flower painter Franz Xaver Gruber (Vienna 1801-1862) who achieved success at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris with a large still life with thistle, poppies and butterflies. This unusual subject matter earned him the nickname “Thistle Gruber”.
Georg Seitz appears to have been inspired by Gruber’s famous thistle in the present lot, even invoking Gruber’s motif of the silvery web between the coarse thistle leaves spun by a little spider. However, whereas Gruber’s thistle is larger than life, and raised in stature by being positioned in front of expansive mountain scenery, Seitz chooses a more intimate scene and a naturalistic setting. In the present lot the thistle stands at the edge of a cornfield which is discernible in the background to the left. In the foreground it is joined by fragrant meadow flowers including corn poppies, blue meadow sage, yarrow and arnica. All kinds of butterflies, caterpillars, bumble bees and beetles populate the leaves and blooms. Seitz shares Gruber’s fascination with the thistle’s wild and unruly appearance, although his thistle remains rooted in its natural setting, rendering it a call to the viewer to recognise the beauty of nature, even in its small and apparently insignificant details