The Gardener
A charming little painting, created by Pierre Cuypers’s father, is on display in “Cuypers’s Study” in the “Sources of Inspiration” section. The painting depicts a gardener with his shovel. He is smelling a flower he has just picked.
The work is unsigned and has been part of the collection since the museum’s founding in 1932, as a donation from the Cuypers family. The registration records state that the work was created by Johannes Hubertus Cuypers, inspired by an old print. Unfortunately, it does not specify which print this refers to. There are four other similar paintings in the collection, part of a series of five in total. Gerard van de Garde of the Roermond Municipal Archives recently discovered a connection to a series titled *The Five Senses*. The British Museum’s collection includes five engravings by Jacques-Philippe le Bas, and the collection of the Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove, features five paintings by David Teniers. The engravings were created using Teniers’ paintings as models.
Both series bear a striking resemblance to those by Cuypers’ father. It is very likely that he created his works based on (reproductions of) the engravings or the paintings. Engravings were often sold as individual prints or as a series of individual prints and may well have found their way to Roermond in this manner in the early nineteenth century. So now we know which model Cuypers’ father used to create the painting. And we also know that “The Gardener” represents the sense of smell!
