The Flower Painter 

Joshua LaRock painted this oil on panel artwork, titled ‘The Flower Painter’. LaRock paints in a classical, realist style, with a focus on traditional techniques and subject matter. In this portrait, the male figure has the classic, handsome and somber look that was common in portraits of male aristocrats from centuries ago. It could easily be mistaken for one from the Renaissance. The man in this painting does not obviously challenge the social structures of our time. However, he does challenge the contemporary art world’s obsession with modernism, conceptualism, and abstract art. To fully understand paintings like this, resources such as artist biographies, historical studies of portraiture, and analyses of the contemporary art market could be helpful. It is important to consider how the art market and museum culture shape the reception and valuation of different artistic styles and movements.