This artwork is inspired by the 17th-century painting Vaasje met een enkele tulp (Vase with a Single Tulip) by Balthasar van der Ast (see below).

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I attended the exhibition In volle bloei (In Full Bloom) at the Mauritshuis, where, even among all the colourful, larger works, this small painting stood out to me. I sketched it in my notebook with pen and watercolours and was drawn to the painting’s symbolism. The fly represents death and despair, while the butterfly symbolises hope and resurrection. These two contrasting themes are represented by the flower itself, which will wither and die, but from its bulb will spring forth a new flower to bloom the following year.

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Tulips with “flamed” petals were very popular in the 17th century. In fact, it is difficult to find a regular tulip in paintings from this time. What wasn’t known at the time was that these “flames” were caused by a virus—beauty born from trauma. This period was also the height of Dutch ‘tulip mania,’ when speculation on bulbs was rampant. Indeed, many thousands of guilders were spent on bulbs before anyone even knew what they would look like once in bloom.​

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Before I painted my version of the tulip, I built a set. I used a small vase that once belonged to my husband’s grandmother. Since the leaves in the original painting are placed in unnatural positions, I enlisted the help of my son and husband to hold them in place for the photo. They also helped to hold the flower upright so the vase wouldn’t tumble over, as the size doesn’t really work in real life—the flower is too heavy for such a small vase, but replicates the original work from the 17th century.

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Once I took the photo, I added the butterfly and fly using Photoshop. The shadows were incorrect, and the leaves were still a bit oddly shaped, but those were all changed during the painting process. 

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When I completed the work, our five-year-old daughter, Alix, was fascinated by it and, like me at the Mauritshuis, made a drawing of it, something she had never done with any of my other art (see below). It is extraordinary to see how such a small artwork can draw the attention.

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Discover the process, from concept to creation, behind the artworks.

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