ART COLLECTING

“Still Life: Vase with Irises Against a Yellow Background,” 1890 Vincent Van Gogh Oil on Canvas 36” x 29”

Some of the earliest depictions of flowers occurred in ancient Egypt, where the lotus flower was used in wall paintings, jewelry, and architectural design.

Throughout Medieval times, flowers were often included in artwork as religious symbols. Though flowers often occurred in paintings during this time period, they were always used as a secondary focal point. The lily in a painting of the Virgin Mary, for instance, symbolized purity, while the presence of a rose in a painting could symbolize the blood of those martyred for the faith.

T

he depiction of flowers in art seems like a common occurrence. A vase of flowers on a table strikes us as being not only a ubiquitous subject, but also a somewhat dull one. Though flowers have appeared in artwork since ancient times, their presence was not always so prevalent.

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In the 17th century, the Dutch began to paint food and flowers as the primary focal point of their artwork. The sudden interest in these subjects was due to an influx of wealth and economic stability in Holland at that time. As a result, the general populace had both a disposable income and an appetite for paintings whose subjects would display their excess wealth. In this case, the subjects were food and flowers, painted in meticulous detail. The French Impressionist painters also began taking an interest in flowers as primary subjects, but they were not concerned with symbolism or social statements about wealth. The impressionist painter was more concerned with aesthetics, and the role light and environment played in affecting the way subjects appeared. Impressionist artists such as Van Gogh and Monet transcribed the beauty of flowers with more freedom and flow than the strict realism of the Dutch, resulting in works that have become so famous they are now recognizable at a glance. The surge in popularity of impressionist expressions of flora have had a tremendous impact on the continuing presence of flowers in art.

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