Flowers in the Art of the Great Masters: Flowers, Gardens and Their Meaning

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades looking at flowers and gardens in art.

Hilary Hope Guise, freelance lecturer and practising artist, took us on a whistle stop tour of flowers and gardens in art from the ancient world to the early 20th century, looking at what they symbolised.

She had some wonderful illustrations and covered a lot of ground but I would have liked a bit more depth on each area. It might have worked better as a series of talks.

I did however learn quite a bit such as the fact that the blue waterlily was a symbol of rebirth to the Egyptians as it disappeared underwater at night and the link between images of Hercules in the garden of the Hesperides with those of the Garden of Eden.

We also took in the frescoed dining room of the Empress Livia, the medieval idea of the walled garden, Tulip Mania, the influence of Japanese prints, some of the philosophy behind Monet’s Water lilies and much more.

 

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