Curatorial Narrative Andries Daniels’ Vase with Tulips (circa 1620-1625) occupies a pivotal position within the Baroque tradition, a testament to the genre’s continued emphasis on dramatic light and shadow. The artist’s use of chiaroscuro imbues the still life with an almost tactile sense of depth, as if the dark, almost ebony background were a void from which the vibrant tulips erupt. The fine brushwork that defines their petals serves to heighten this illusion, lending an air of delicate fragility to the otherwise robust blooms. When enlarged to 44×59 inches, the work’s chromatic structure takes on added weight, as if the rich reds and whites of the tulips were about to burst forth from the confines of the frame. The dark background recedes slightly, allowing the foliage at lower left to assert itself as a subtle counterpoint to the central mass of flowers. In this expanded context, the vase itself appears almost diminutive, its