Bernard Cathelin (1919-2004) was born in Paris in 1919. In 1945, he enrolled at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris while apprenticing at Maurice de Brianchon's studio. During this time, he began to adopt Fauvism's bright use of colors, the serene and dream-like imagery of Les Nabis, also combined the style of École de Paris and Minimalism which globally developed from 1960 to 1970. In Cathelin's still lifes, he employs many broad swathes of color to convey a semi-abstract scene.

In 1947, he began teaching at École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. In 1950, he was awarded the Blumenthal Prize that is dedicated to helping the young artists of France. In 1958, his work was selected for exhibition by the David B. Findlay Gallery of New York, and he was featured on the cover of the New York Herald Tribune Sunday supplement, after which his artworks were frequently exhibited in Japan, the US, France, Europe, and all around the world. In 1995, he was elected to the French Légion d'Honneur by the President of the Republic. This was his highest honor in life. In 1997, a largescale retrospective exhibition was dedicated to him at the Valence Museum, France. In 2000, a large-scale retrospective exhibition was held in the Shanghai Art Museum (SAM), China. Even after the artist's passing in 2004, his work is still frequently exhibited around the world.

Since ancient times, the subject of flowers has inspired artists of all disciplines from both the East and West to create their own interpretations. To most audiences, plants and flowers are a familiar subject. Yet, for artists, they are an important test of the maturity of their style, technique, and development. As a subject matter, flora has a kind of universality that allows historians to use these works to define artistic timelines and unique artistic vocabulary. After World War II, many artists began to travel and engage in cultural exchange. It was through this exchange that Cathelin encountered the Chinese method of freehand painting.

Cathelin is adept at capturing the essence of form, a piece of scenery, or a bouquet of flowers; this is a profound truth that extends beyond reality: the discovery of the essence of things through their surface enables us to attain a sphere of life of perfect harmony. This work is vastly elegant, deeply poetic, and perfectly embodies the artist's love for natural sceneries. Through the use of dynamic colors and semi-realist techniques, Cathelin highlights the natural beauty of the subject matter. His richly colored works are often excerpts of scenes from the countries he has visited, including the Drôme region of France, Mexico, India, and Japan, and incorporate both local colors and textures. Each of Cathelin's works is like a richly poetic haiku.

When looking at a Cathelin piece, a viewer often will experience a subconscious serenity. Elements that are simple and easy to understand are arranged by the artist's careful hand to create a harmonious and full image. He often employed simple colors for the background, adjusting the depth of their hues to create a depth of space. Taking a closer look, his use of color appears to be much like that of the old masters, precise, complex, and detailed, using many different layers to coax texture out of the very medium of the piece.

The bright white of the vase at the center of Bouquet au Vase de Chine makes the subject leap out from the murky grey background and the lively decorations on the vase evoke the colors of the bouquet it contains. The artist downplays lines and curves, deliberately leaving strokes of uneven color and size. The shades of green, grey-green, jade green, and turquoise, vary from light to dark and suggest that this piece was painted during the summer, with the leaves of the flowers maturing in the full radiance of the summer sun. The pink petals of the flowers crowd around one another in a beautiful rhythm from which several deep violet flowers emerge. The work has a ceramic like texture imbued by the uneven surface created by the artist's paint knife. Cathelin's Bouquet au Vase de Chine reads like a haiku, leaving the viewer with a sense of joy and tranquility at the intermingling of colors, laid out like a rich banquet for the soul.