Jean Louis Prévost (1745-1827), pair of gouaches circa 1775

A pair of gouaches depicting luxurious bouquets of roses, lilacs, larkspur and other flowers, with flies, ants and drops of dew, in a vase standing upon a marble pedestal. Both gouaches have similar antique frames.

Jean-Louis Prévost was the son of a winegrower and, following in the footsteps of his two elder brothers Jean-Jacques and Guillaume, was apprenticed under flower and animal painter Jean-Jacques Bachelier in the porcelain factory of Sèvres for two years. Afterwards, the brothers were jointly hired for five years by one of the founders of the china factory of Vincennes, Jacques-Rémie Roussel. Instructed to illustrate the Horti Cellensis collection, they ultimately produced more than 1800 drawings. While Guillaume continued to specialise in botanic illustrations (he worked for the king at Trianon and accompanied La Pérouse on his expedition to the Astrolabe), Jean-Jacques and Jean-Louis charted a more artistic course. These two brothers developed very similar styles, and their works were much admired and praised at the exhibitions in which they participated.

Their style occupies a middle ground between the exuberance of Jan van Huysum (1682-1749) and the more scientific style of Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840).
In the twilight years of the ancien régime, Jean-Louis Prevost was collected by high-profile aficionados such as Augustin Blondel de Gagny, the Prince of Conti, and Pierre-Louis Marquis de Livois. He joined the Salon from 1791 onwards, exhibiting there until 1802.