Still life with Nautilus

014008   Franςois Joseph HUYGENS [1820-1908] Still life with Nautilus, 1873
oil on canvas, 52 x 73 cm, signed l.r. "Huygens.1873."

François Joseph HUYGENS [1820 Brussels-1908 Kortenberg] Huygens studied at the Academy in Brussels. Between 1842 and 1890 he exhibited paintings at the local Salon. The oeuvre of the artist is dominated by still lifes with flowers inspired by the popular 1830s style of Jean Baptiste Robie (1821-1910). The flower compositions in chalices and goblets are juxtaposed with various objects on the canvas. Huygens’ still lifes are examples of mastery of the subject. Furthermore, they reveal traces of Belgian realism initiated by the artist and his friend Louis Dubois (1830-1880), among others. Huygens’ paintings are exhibited in Belgian museums in Brussels and Leuven.