| Plants have frequently been used in paintings as potent
vehicles for symbolism. Artists have often utilized flowers to convey
religious, moral, or social lessons. Such floral symbolism include the
lily illustrating purity, the carnation representing fidelity, and the
tulip indicating greed. Religious doctrines were also given botanical
symbols: wheat became a metaphor for life, jasmine symbolized Divine love,
and the passionflower recalled the instruments of the Passion of Christ.
This symbolic use of botanical elements in art to convey moral messages
and social statements will be discussed and richly illustrated. Particular
attention will be given to the Dutch vanitas still-lifes of the
seventeenth century. In addition to displaying botanical accuracy and
aesthetic quality, these painted bouquets were often symbolic of the
transience of life and sensual pleasure. Painted insects devoured tromp l'
oeil leaves, and roses passed their temporal beauty: Ars longa,
vita brevis. Finally, examples from such artists as Georgia
O'Keefe and Andy Warhol will be illustrated to consider the intriguing
question: Can symbolic moral and social critiques be found in the
twentieth century flower paintings? |