What Does A Tulip Painting Symbolize – Flowers have always been a popular subject for still life paintings, as well as a symbolic appearance in many other genres. Understanding the significance of floral choices and the story behind these beautifully composed details can help you unlock the true themes and meaning of your artwork.
Flowers have the influence to enhance the ideas and allegory of works of art. Botticelli’s Primavera, a masterpiece that has over 500 species of plants in its composition, includes almost 200 different flowers. Only 130 of the 200 flowers can be identified, so many of them remain mysterious as extinct plants or as imaginary species. The central figure of the Roman deity Flora is a symbol of rebirth, and so the many flowers suggest notions of her immense power. This painting was a wedding gift, so it is significant that it represents the ideas of fertility, beauty and love so strongly.
What Does A Tulip Painting Symbolize
During the Renaissance, a new research fascination with natural history forced the study of exotic and native flowers. Along with other “curiosities” they were included in still life paintings to display the worldly knowledge and allegorical literacy of the patron. In 1634, an exotic import of tulip bulbs from Turkey changed everything. Suddenly, only these flowers could indicate the wealth and status of the artist’s patron.
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Above: detail from A Bouquet of Flowers by Clara Peters, the Tulip Mania of 1612 and the Dutch Golden Age
“Tulip mania” is often used to describe the increasingly incredible value of bulb imports in the mid-17th century. Lasting only 3 years, from 1634 to 1637, it was the first speculative financial bubble in recorded history. Sought after for their vibrancy, tulips were unlike any flower seen before in Europe and quickly became a luxury item for royalty, aristocracy and wealthy merchants. Tulips were categorized according to their color, with traditional solid colors (red, yellow or white) known as couleurs, red/pink speckled or variegated varieties known as rosés, purple/lilac tones known as violets and the rarest forms known as bizarden. Bizarre tulips were a combination of colors, usually streaks of white or yellow on the colored petals.
Above: detail with expensive ‘bizarre’ tulips in yellow and red from a Vase of Flowers by Jacob Vossmeier, 1613
Multi-colored tulips were very difficult to breed because of the need for a virus that splits the pigment in the petals, and production took several years – increasing their value. The financial bubble was based on growers putting more and more value on the bulbs, especially if they thought they might contain a virus that splits the color of the petals. The red and white striped tulip known as Semper Augustus was the most expensive in the world, so they were often included in still life paintings that followed the tulip craze.
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Oil paintings capturing tulips and other expensive flowers in their bloom were a way to capture the allure of an ephemeral luxury item. Although the large bouquets found in paintings from the Dutch Golden Age lead us to believe that they were often found in homes, it was not common to find these arrangements in real life. Wealthy Dutch merchants were more likely to display their tulips in a unique way, in a delftware vase, such as a tulip. The combination of flowers in these paintings are often from different seasons, further suggesting that they were based on earlier sketches or botanical illustrations rather than taken directly from life.
Above: Detail from A Floral Still Life by Hans Boulogne, painted in 1639 just after the collapse of the tulip market
These visually appealing paintings use many flower studies to compose an impressive and complex work of art that is both academically symbolic and a sign of considerable opulence. For example, the withering of flowers can symbolize fleeting beauty and a deeper allegory of the viewer’s mortality, also known as memento mori. Second, the work may display grandiose opulence that indicates the social status of the patron. Early works by Dutch flower artists such as Ambrosius Boschaert (1573–1621) were bright, but during the Baroque period a darker background was usually used to obtain greater contrast and use of shadow. This also allowed the use of trompe-l’œil, making the flowers stand out as seemingly three-dimensional objects on the screen.
Flowers can have different meanings depending on their variety and the way they are presented. Some colors can also evoke different allegorical interpretations, for example, a red rose can symbolize passion, while a yellow rose can be indicative of jealousy and infidelity.
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Faded flowers: mortality and the idea of beauty fades, a concept that even the most beautiful will age and decay.
Rose: the queen of flowers, the triumph of love, the goddess Venus. Depending on the color, it can represent passion (red), jealousy (yellow), purity (white), emerging beauty (rosebud), or grace and gratitude (pink).
Iris: death, messages from beyond the grave – the Greek goddess Iris conveys messages to the underworld through the rainbow. The three petals can also symbolize the holy trinity or faith, courage and wisdom.
Lotus: In ancient art this flower symbolizes enlightenment and connection with the gods – the bright flower is enlightenment in contrast to the dark roots in the swamp water. It is commonly seen in Buddhist and ancient Egyptian art.
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Hyacinth: in classical literature this was placed on wedding beds. It has connections with the three graces and the goddess Venus. It was named after Hyacinth, a divine hero and lover of Apollo.
Above: Detail from Flowers in a Terracotta Vase by Albertus Jonas Brandt and Elke Jelles Elkema, 1810-24
Above: Detail from a still life with flowers in a glass vase by Jan Davids de Hem, 17th century
Carnations: a gift of love, red carnations can be associated with Christ, the betrothed, in China carnations are a symbol of marriage.
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Above: Still Life with Flowers in a Greek Vase: Allegory of Spring by Georgius Jacobus Johannes van Oss, 1817
Above: detail from Woman Seated by a Vase of Flowers by Edgar Degas, 1865 – Impressionists used flowers as a way to explore art for art’s sake, rather than relying on historical allegories Preserving Flower Paintings
Our team has worked on a lot of flower paintings, especially still life artwork that covers many of the themes we’ve covered in this article. Typical treatments carried out by our conservators include surface cleaning, varnish removal, tear repair and paint stabilization to prevent and restore peeling problems.
Because of the delicate details of floral still life paintings, especially those of the 17th and 18th centuries, it is important that they can be seen clearly as the artist intended. Historic varnish can discolor and yellow over time, leading to a distressed appearance. Our team uses special solvent mixtures to remove the old varnish without disturbing the paint layer. This allows the colors to return to their original vibrancy. Our team can then replace this with a new variety of conservation approved varnish that is UV protected and not known to yellow in the same way as traditional substances.
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Tear repairs are completed through complex, step-by-step processes, often under a microscope. This allows the canvas to be joined precisely and without adversely affecting the structure of the artwork. Each pigment retouch is finished with a small amount of conservation pigment, isolated between two layers of specialist varnish, to ensure that the artistic and historical integrity is not compromised.
Our team also offer a technical reporting service, enabling you to explore the history of your painting through scholarly and conservation leading color studies. The full report will help you establish an era and style history through pigment analysis and art historical research.
If you have a floral painting that requires care or further research, please speak to our helpful team who will be happy to advise you further. Please email us at [email protected] or call 0207 112 7576 Art History A brief, blooming history of tulips in art, from the 17th century Dutch flower craze to Koons’ controversial bouquet
As we approach the height of spring and tulip season, we trace the colorful flowers through centuries of art and culture.
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Still life with tulips. Found in the collection of the Stockholm National Museum. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)
Tulips are recognized worldwide as harbingers of spring. In New York, they appear along Park Avenue and throughout city parks; the Srinagar Tulip Festival in Kashmir, India, is the largest in Asia; and, of course, springtime in the Netherlands saw over 7 million tulips bloom across the country.
The widespread popularity of Tulips has also made them permanent muses for artists, a reliably understood symbol of spring and a cornerstone of vibrant landscapes inspired by nature. Their near-ubiquity in both life and art raises the question of where they originated, what their historical and cultural significance is – and how the artist’s use of them in their works has evolved over the centuries. As we approach spring’s zenith and the height of tulip season, learn more about the history of this much-loved floral motif.
It is thought that the tulip originally came from the Central Asian mountain ranges
