Vase of Flowers and Conch Shell

This muted composition of flowers in a vase sitting on a shelf with a conch shell was featured in the 1781 Paris Salon. Male authorities of the time considered still life painting to be one of the few genres of painting suitable for women artists. In the face of these restrictions, Vallayer-Coster used the medium to show off her delicate handling of texture, her tactile rendering of the tissue-thin flower petals evoking her similarly skilled depiction of the luxurious fabrics of royal women’s dresses. Indeed, French critic Denis Diderot wrote of Vallayer-Coster, “No one of the French school can rival the strength of [Vallayer-Coster’s] colors, nor her uncomplicated surface finish.”

Painting