No. 4. Wreath of Flowers. Daniel Seghers. Born 1590. Died 1660. The tints of these roses, lilies, tulips, and carnations almost rival the beauty of those which are painted by the sunbeam. The reputation of Seghers as flower painter was very high, and he was often employed by the great artists of his day to paint wreaths or festoons within which they afterwards placed other pictures. In the church of Antwerp formerly existed a St. Ignatius, painted by Rubens, and surrounded by one of the wreaths of Seghers, but it was unfortunately destroyed by lightning. The head within this wreath is evidently the work of another hand. It is St. Anthony of Padua, a favorite subject of the painters. He was one of those monastic saints whose penitent prayers and tears were continually ascending to heaven. The flowers, by which he is surrounded, may represent the pleasures of the world, against whose temptations he struggled, and which he successfully resisted. Seghers was the pupil of Jean Brueghel, but afterwards studied in Rome. He sent two bouquets, in which he had also introduced beautiful winged insects, to the Prince and Princess of Orange. These were rewarded by the princely return of clusters of flowers wrought in gold and adorned with precious stones. [P. 15.]
A Catalogue of Paintings in the Gallery of John C. Henderson, Linden Lawn, Staten Island. New-York: W.C. Bryant & Co., Printers, 41 Nassau Street, corner Liberty. 1860.
