Sunflowers

Still Life Vase With Twelve Sunflowers by van Gogh (1888-1889)

August is prime sunflower season! These beautiful, bold blossoms that flourish in the late summer and early autumn are one of my favorite flowers, and they have inspired countless artists as well. Vincent Van Gogh's various sunflower paintings remain some of his most popular. I have included a few of them here, along with a number of other beautiful sunflower paintings in a celebration of the season. All images are courtesy of wikiart.org. Link

Still Life Vase With Twelve Sunflowers by van Gogh (1889)

Sunflowers by van Gogh (1888)

Still Life With Roses and Sunflowers by van Gogh (1886)

Shed With Sunflowers by van Gogh (1887)

The Garden With Sunflower by van Gogh (1887)

Van Gogh Painting Sunflowers by Paul Gauguin (1888)

Still Life With Sunflowers On an Armchair by Paul Gauguin (1901)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small Butterfly and Sunflower by Ohara Koson

 

Grasshopper and Sunflower by Shibata Zeshin (1877)

Country Garden With Sunflowers by Gustav Klimt (1905-1906)

The Sunflower by Gustav Klimt (1906-1907)

Sunflowers In the Garden at Petit Gennevilliers by Gustave Caillebotte (1885)

Sunflowers On the Banks of the Seine by Gustave Caillebotte (1886)

Bouquet of Sunflowers by Claude Monet (1880)

Still Life With Sunflower by Piet Mondrian (1907)

Sunflowers by Emil Nolde (1917)

Eugène Grasset and His Beautiful Gardens

Spring (1894)

Eugène Grasset (1841 or 1845-1917) was a Swiss artist who worked in a variety of design fields in Paris, France. He is considered to be a pioneer in Art Nouveau design. Images are courtesy of wikiart.org (link).

Self Portrait (date unknown)

He studied drawing and architecture, and his travels to Egypt and his love of Japanese art influenced many of his own designs. He initially worked as a painter and sculptor, but during his career he also designed fabrics, furniture, tapestries, ceramics and jewelry. 

Le Nouveau Larousse Advertisement (1890)

He also taught at several schools in Paris, and a number of his students went on to have successful careers in art and design. 

 

Grafton Gallery, From Les Affiche Illustree (1897)

Although best known for his poster designs from the 1890s-1900s, he also illustrated magazine covers, advertisements, postcards and French and Swiss postage stamps.

His often feature beautiful women and flowers. Some images of historical subjects, such as the June 1895 cover of The Century Magazine which features Napoleon, do not feature flowers, but still utilize rich ornamental design in his distinctive style.

His best-known work today is probably the beautiful series of twelve paintings that illustrated the 1896 calendar for the Parisian department store La Belle Jardiniere. In these images, each month features a beautiful woman, in different seasonal clothes, walking in, tending to, or gathering flowers from an enchanted garden. 

February Flower--The Crocus

Yellow Crocuses

February 1st is about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is celebrated today as St. Brigid's Day in Ireland, which honors one of Ireland's patron saints, St. Brigid (or St. Brigit) of Kildare (circa 453-524 A.D.) It is also the date of the ancient Gaelic festival of Imbolc (or Imbolg), historically observed in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, which marked the beginning of Spring. Although many of the ancient Imbolc customs died out by the 20th century, the seasonal festival is still  recognized, and ancient traditions are still practiced in some areas. 

St. Brigid of Kildare (source)

We're still in the middle of winter here in southeastern Pennsylvania. Although it's been mostly above freezing this past week, piles of snow still remain from the Blizzard of 2016. But I always feel a little bit of hope at the beginning of February, that spring can't be too far away. Already the days are getting just a little bit longer, and this month we'll get to see our first spring flowers--the crocuses.

Photo by Christa Regina (source)

Crocus is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family. There are about 90 species, which bloom in various parts of the world at different times of the year. The seasoning saffron is harvested from a number of different species, including Crocus sativus, which has been cultivated in the Mediterranean since ancient times. 

Saffron Gatherers Appear in Minoan Frescoes on the Island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea (1600-1500 B.C.E) (source)

Several species of ornamental crocuses are popular with gardeners in North America and Europe, and are mostly yellow, white or shades of purple, although some varieties are available in colors including pink and orange. Crocuses are all about two to four inches tall. Snow crocuses are the first to bloom; Dutch crocuses are larger and bloom somewhat later. 

Photo by Listje (source)

Crocus flowers and leaves are protected from frost by a waxy cuticle, and they can often be seen blooming through the snow. The strong scent of many crocuses lures sleepy bees from their hives as early as February or March. Crocuses naturalize, meaning that they grow and spread, with minimal care, and return each year to add striking color to the dull winter landscape.

Crocuses In the Snow  (Photo by Ralph Hauser) (source)

Crocuses have always been celebrated as an early sign of spring and of hope. In the romantic Victorian "language of flowers", lovers could use flowers symbolically to send each other secret messages. Crocuses symbolized youth and gladness, and they are featured in the following poem and vintage illustrations.

Three White Crocuses and Violets (courtesy of tuckdb.org)

Birthday Card (1921) (courtesy of tuckdb.org)

 

Two Pretty Girls Driving In A Snowstorm, White Crocuses Below (courtesy of tuckdb.org)

Sundial In Garden With Crocuses--Scotland (1908) by Mary G. W. Wilson (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Pot of Purple and White Crocuses (1905) (courtesy of tuckdb.org)