featured item
Flowers in art
Posted by Gillian Jones on 04/06/2014
Flowers in art for the summer of 2014
Flowers in Art
Flowers are the most painted of things, second to bowls of fruit and landscapes, and probably come last on the list of most wanted paintings. However, there are some flowers paintings that are so beautiful they linger long in the memory. In tune with this years Chelsea Flower Show and for those of you who love flowers, this blog will look at two famous flower paintings. Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Henri Fantin-Latour, Roses (1894)
Vincent Van Gogh’s Sunflowers
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers was completed along with four other paintings of the same flower towards the end of the late 19th century. Their intention was to decorate the house of Gauguin, which he rented in the South of France in Arles. The idea was to create panels so there would be a wall of blue and yellow. He worked on it day and night as testified by correspondence between Van Gogh to his brother. The flowers were dying when he painted them and the effect is dramatic, there were several versions of this one painting.
Earlier this year the National Gallery reunited Van Gogh’s Sunflowers with another version that he painted later, so that lovers of this painting could compare the two together. The sunflower motif has been popular ever since Van Gogh produced his paintings. And if the amount of visitors to the National Gallery to see Van Gogh’s Sunflowers is anything to go by then this is one flower painting that’s not lost its ability to impress and enchant.
Henri Fantin-Latour, Roses (1894)
Roses are more commonly associated with love, red for passion, yellow for love. Fantin-Latour may not be as well-known as Van Gogh, but he certainly knew a few things about flowers, to such an extent that someone actually named a flower after him. This painting is full of lush, ravishing roses in different sizes, petal shapes and colours, even Proust had good things to say about Fantin-Latour’s paintings. The flowers are in full bloom in summer and look so beautiful you almost feel as if you could pluck then right out of the frame. The English loved Fantin-Latour’s work, so much so, that a lot of it was sold more or less as soon as it was completed.
Chelsea Flower Show
With the Chelsea Flower Show just over for 2014 you will be finding yourself inspired to either take up gardening or perhaps paint something you’ve produced in your own garden.
If you’re not feeling that energetic then why not put flowers into the www.antiques.co.uk website and see what comes up, paintings, Royal Doulton, jewellery, furniture, flowers inspire in millions of different ways and I’m sure there’ll be something there to remind you of those most beautiful flowers, and remember, in the words of Hans Christien Anderson “Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”