Mid Century Dutch Oil Painting of Pink Azaleas in a Brass Pot by Joan van Gent

A tall, glowing still life of coral pink azaleas in a brass pot, painted with the kind of patient realism that makes every petal and leaf feel touchable. This is an original oil on canvas signed Joan V Gent at lower right, which we believe to be the Dutch painter Joan van Gent (1891 to 1974), a mid century still life specialist whose flower pieces turn up in collections across the Netherlands and America. It is a proper example of the type: a warm olive ground, a single mass of blooms, a pewter dish underneath and one fallen sprig of leaves on the table, added for balance the way Dutch painters have done for three hundred years.

The colour is what makes it. Against that muted background the pinks are almost electric, dozens of blooms building upward in a loose pyramid, and the brass pot catches the light in a way that reads as real metal from across a room. It is a long, narrow composition, which is rarer than you would think in flower painting and hugely useful for a wall where a square picture would look wrong.

It sits in its original mid century frame, limed pale wood with a wide linen slip and a thin gilt fillet, measuring 71 x 41 cm overall. The linen has a few soft marks and the wood some gentle wear, all of which we would leave exactly as it is. The canvas shows a scattering of tiny surface specks near the lower edge, only visible up close, and is otherwise bright and unrestored.

Hang it in a hallway or beside a doorway where the tall format can be used properly. We also love it above a bedside table, or in a bathroom with sage or plaster walls where the pink would sing. It sits happily with pale Scandinavian furniture and just as well with dark antiques, which is the trick of that limed frame.