Flowers from Dutch still life paintings (part 1)
I am currently taking a floristry class on cut flower and foliage identification and care through the City College of San Francisco. When I looked into the intersection of art history and floristry in the previous journal entry, I might have subconsciously laid the groundwork for my final project — a report on flowers as seen in 17th-century Dutch still life paintings.
As a heads-up, in this post I will be working through a pile of loosely related information in order to organize my thoughts. No flower facts will be given today. Parts two and three will contain a discussion on flowers and notes from a museum visit.
Quick summary: I got my ducks in a row for an upcoming school assignment on the topic of still life with flowers from the Dutch Golden Age. After building up a background understanding about the Low Countries, I located two paintings that I could go see in the San Francisco Bay Area. I then got ready to browse a few relevant books at the library.
With a pair of fresh eyes, my initial impressions of Dutch still life with flowers
I could have chosen any topic that connects ten or more flowers; Dutch still life popped into my mind since I’d recently seen a few posts tagged #dutchstilllife or #dutchmasters on my Instagram feed.
I would describe the Dutch still life as a specific brand of composition: a straight-on angle shot of a vibrant medley of flowers, arranged wildly yet evenly in a low vase on a table. Well-lit flowers tend to take up most of the focus against a dimly-lit background.
At the risk of committing an anachronism, I imagine that the original Dutch still life paintings functioned in a way akin to social media posts do today. Implicit in the images is a self-reminder and social signal, which goes something like: ‘look at the beautiful and interesting stuff that I gathered. I have the means and a taste for the good life.’
The flowers themselves look familiar, not only from my work as a florist but also from my days as a community gardener. I could probably name 90% of them without having to look them up. This leads me to suspect that our present-day choice of crops for gardening and floral arranging indelibly carries on the Dutch taste in horticulture from all those centuries ago.
A glossary of terms: Dutch, still life, master
When I started looking for example paintings, I saw multiple geographical terms that were in use. By way of gaining some background knowledge, I rounded up the following names of places.
‘Low Countries’ is a catch-all geographical term for the area corresponding to modern-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of France and Germany. Three major rivers form a delta in this region, which features relatively low altitudes.
‘Dutch’ is an English term which refers to a specific Germanic language and ethnicity that formed in the Low Countries.
‘Netherlands’ is Dutch for ‘low-lying lands’. ‘Netherlandish’ is a term in art history which refer to artists and works from the Low Countries, usually up to the 16th century.
By the 17th century, Dutch-speaking fiefdoms had split into two overarching political territories. In art history, ‘Flemish’ (referring to the province of Flanders) is used for the southern portion of that divide, while ‘Dutch’ is used for the northern side.
The term ‘still life’ was coined by the Dutch in the 17th century. My personal interpretation is that ‘still’ relates to the arrangement of stationary objects by an artist, while ‘life’ indicates a moment in human existence. A synonym is ‘vanitas’, a term colored with the sentiment that material possessions and life on earth are in vain.
Lastly on terminology: the painters and their works are often referred to as ‘Dutch masters’ or ‘old masters’. ‘Master’ in this case is a professional term from the guild and apprenticeship systems that were in place for trades, which included decorative arts.
So why the Dutch, and why Flowers?
Cities along Low Countries’ waterways emerged as cultural powerhouses by the 17th century, when seafaring technology, international trade, and colonization were leading methods in building up European economies. The Dutch developed an appreciation for treasures from all over the globe — and as evidenced by the infamous Tulipmania, a frenzied appreciation when it comes to flowers. Three and a half centuries later, Netherlands still remains to be the largest hub of internal floral trade.
Dutch still life flower paintings that I can go see in the San Francisco Bay Area
Having clarified the key search terms, I visited a few websites for well-known art museums in my area. I found out that the following two paintings are currently on display.
I already visited the Legion of Honor this past Sunday, and plan on sharing my experience in a subsequent post. Ambrosius Bosschaert the elder is said to be one of the first Dutch specialists in still life paintings with flowers, so a day trip to Palo Alto to see his work is also in the works.
Just from the digital images, I see that the painting from 1663 is a lot more photorealistic compared to one from around 1615. I wonder whether this represents a difference in artistic choice or a collective technical improvement. I will need to dig deeper before I can make a call.
A working bibliography on Dutch still life works and their flowers
Armed with just enough contextual knowledge, I am ready to charge into the next phase: plant identification, along with research into historical uses and flower meanings. Continuing in the vein of utilizing local resources, I queried for titles on the San Francisco Public Library’s website.
Illustrated books on art history tend to be oversized. The library system here usually make such books available for viewing within the library. So I plan on visiting the Main branch in order to browse the following five.
Elegance and Refinement - the Still-life Paintings of Willem Van Aelst by Tanya Paul and others.
Still-life paintings from the Netherlands, 1550-1720 by Alan Chong & Wouter Kloek with Celeste Brusati and others.
The Medieval Flower Book by Celia Fisher.
Flowers of the Renaissance by Celia Fisher.
The Tulip Anthology by Ron van Dongen.
In conclusion
Just from looking up the basic terminology, I got the impression that the world was a complicated and messy place when the Dutch masters painted the still lifes. (Not to mention the religious struggles, political conflict, wars, plagues, colonial exploitation, etc.) The paintings now appear to be relatable prototypes on how to cope: we reach for the immediate fragments out of a bewildering whole, and find beauty and meaning in their curation.
I still have a lot of work to do, and as many questions in my mind about the flowers. My next stop will be the library in hopes of quenching my curiosity.
Cheers,
Youngjin
Bonus external links to cool historical maps of Northern Europe
The Hanseatic League - Trade in the North and Baltic Seas c. 1400 - World History Encyclopedia
Wealth Year 1500 - Worldmapper
European dominions of the Spanish Habsburgs in 1648 - Encyclopædia Britannica