Flowers. Victoria Charles
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). Although she was recognised as the painter for the aristocracy, she did not stop her artistic activity in the aftermath of the French Revolution. She died at the height of her acclaim at the beginning of the Restoration in 1818.
Vase of Camellias
François Lépagnez, 1870
Oil on canvas, 65 × 54.3 cm
Gallery Popoff, Private collection, Paris
Jean-François Garneray (1755–1837)
Jean-François Garneray was born in 1755. He was one of the few pupils of David (who, at one point in his career, painted flowers). Although he was primarily a portrait and interiors artist, Garneray depicted flowers, especially towards the end of his career. He was in fact one of the main precursors of non-specialised flower artists who appeared around the middle of the century and who would become more and more numerous.
Lilac in a Glass with Three Feet
Edouard Manet, 1882
Oil on canvas, 27 × 21 cm
Galerie R. Schmit, Paris
Although his compositions are a little disordered, the few canvases depicting flowers are magnificent and showcase the artist’s technical skills. Colour never takes second place to drawing and a sort of mysterious grandeur emanates from these paintings. His Museum of Tours bouquet is mid-way between a still life and a depiction of exuberant life due to his usage of bright colours. Garneray died in 1837.
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