regarded as the century of botany. In the 18th century, girls from good families had teachers of floral print-making. Pierre-Joseph Redouté remains one of the best known (1759–1840). Anne Vallayer-Coster is a specialist in painting flowers (Roses dans un vase bleu (Roses in a Blue Vase)) and demonstrates her skill at this kind of art.
Homage to the Hortense Queen
Jean-Marie Reignier, 1856
Oil on canvas, 211 × 163 cm
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon
Gérard van Spaendonck (1746–1822) and Jan Franz van Daël (1764–1840) are recognised as painters of flowers – rose, jasmine… G. van Spaendonck launched a collection entitled, “Flowers drawn to life with a collection useful for amateurs, young artists, pupils of the central schools and draughtsmen working in factories”. This genre of work undoubtedly influenced the decorative arts in general and earthenware in particular.
Many parks had their own botanical garden and allegorical monuments where people would delight, as Jean-Jacques Rousseau did, in finding the image of an idealised world.
Roses in a Crystal Vase
André Perrachon
Oil on canvas, 115 × 89 cm
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon
Romantic painting of the 19th century put a damper on the artists’ interest in flowers. Théodore Chassériau is not known for his painting of flowers, but he painted some works with success, such as the Fleurs dans un vase de bronze (Flowers in a Bronze Vase). Cézanne was a remarkable painter of still life, and he applied his talent to his flower paintings. However, it was the Impressionists at the end of the century who once again found an invaluable attribute in the flower for their processes.
Flowers in a Vase
Odilon Redon
Pastel, 54 × 39.5 cm
Private collection
Those used blobs of colour and chromatic variations in their tones according to the seasons. Monet thus observed water lilies, Les Nymphéas blancs (White Water Lilies) and poppies; Renoir, roses (Fleurs dans un vase (Flowers in a Vase)); and Van Gogh sunflowers… Gauguin, who worked with Van Gogh, in the “Atelier du Midi”, studied the same subject.
Flowers in a Vase
Auguste Renoir, c. 1866
Oil on canvas, 81.3 × 65.1 cm
Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris
At the beginning of the 20th century, flowers played a major role in Art Nouveau. The plant kingdom invaded furniture, decorative objects and even architecture. Furthermore, the Fauves used flowers in their paintings for their many colours. Thus, Henri Matisse showed flowers in big bunches, and he used flowers for their decorative aspect. In a similar approach, Picasso used flower motifs because of their curving lines. Bouquet de fleurs dans un vase gris (Bunch of Flowers in a Grey Jug).
Garden in Blossom
Claude Monet, about 1866
Oil on canvas, 65 × 54 cm
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640)
Peter Paul Rubens was born in Siegen, Germany, in 1577. Rubens’ paintings reveal a great spontaneity in his attitude towards life. In his work Rubens produced numerous portraits and pictures in which flowers play a very important decorative role. The depiction of flowers allows the harmony of shapes and colours to be celebrated.
Flowers and Fruits
Henri Fantin-Latour, 1866
Oil on canvas, 73 × 60 cm
Galerie R. Schmit, Paris
It also allows for a palette of warm and golden tones, and for them to be integrated in the light effects which diversify shades and impart a great sensuality. By painting flowers Rubens could use colours as the fundamental medium for pictorial expression. Peter Paul Rubens died in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1640, but his work will always mark a turning point in 17th century art history.
Lady in the Garden Sainte-Adresse (Jeanne Marguerite Lecadre in the Garden)
Claude Monet, 1867
Oil on canvas, 80 × 99 cm
The Hermitage, Saint Petersburg
Emma Desportes de la Fosse (1810–1869)
Emma Desportes de la Fosse’s paintings of flowers are characterised by ordered and well-spaced compositions. The different flowers are outlined clearly, and appear detached from their background of unified cool colour. The clarity of the flower drawings is accentuated by a fairly muted palette mainly composed of pink and blue. All these elements combined give the flowers a grandeur which is as surprising as it is impressive.
White Bubble
Apollinaire Sicard, 1867
Pastel on paper, 89 × 54.5 cm
Private collection, London
Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744–1818)
Vallayer-Coster was born in 1744 and participated with Chardin in the renewal of still life and bouquet painting in the 18th century. She did not become as well known as Chardin probably because she was a woman. She celebrated the glory of an elegant lifestyle. The velvet petals, the silk and her bouquet of flowers standing out against a neutral background, are immediately visually seductive due to the artist’s delicate and nervous strokes. Her roses and her jasmines seem to give off their voluptuous perfumes.
Flowers in a Vase
Auguste Renoir, c.1869
Oil on canvas, 64.9 × 54.2 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The flowers are often depicted surrounded by numerous and varied tactile materials: porcelain, bronze, wood, leather, marble or even a partly opened book (as if the act of reading has been interrupted).
