Still Life with Flowers

Saint-Jean was a prominent still life painter during the second quarter of the 19th century. He trained at the School of Fine Arts in Lyon, dedicating himself to flower painting early in his career and successfully exhibiting work at the Salon in Paris. Cut flowers or fruits dropped onto a forest floor occur often in Saint-Jean's work, giving them a slightly surreal quality to modern eyes. His paintings were often reproduced as textiles, and there was a strong link between artists from Lyon and the silk industry which flourished there.