300 year old masterpiece goes on display in Barnsley market

Jan van Huysum’s Flowers in a Terracotta Vase (1736–7) is on tour, visiting six unexpected locations across the UK – including Barnsley’s market.

The painting will visit the East Midlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as part of a National Gallery project to display the painting in “unexpected” places – including a food bank, former department store and community centre.

Flowers in a Terracotta Vase will be on tour for approximately three months, from early June.

Councillor Tim Cheetham, cabinet spokesperson for place (regeneration and culture) said: ‘It is such an honour that Barnsley is part of this amazing project and to have artwork of this calibre in the town for people to see and discover is a real privilege.

“The fact that the artwork links so closely to the towns outstanding collections is wonderful and we hope people will visit the Cooper Gallery to see more work by the artist.’

A trail of crocheted flowers across the town centre leads to the Cooper Galley, where another artwork by Amsterdamn artist Van Huysum, ‘Flower Piece’, is on display.

Action for Asperger’s and Autism Barnsley wrote a poem together after visiting Flowers in a Terracotta Vase, which has been used in the interpretation alongside the painting during its stay.

National Gallery Director, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, says, ‘This astounding, large flower painting will make an unexpected appearance in unexpected venues across the country. I hope it will make people think about art and the beauty of nature, encourage their own creativity and inspire them to visit their own local museum or art collection.’