Print & drawing
Vase of Flowers
Odilon Redon
1916
Associated place: France
The slim vase anchors a cloud of flowers against a luminous yellow ground.
A journey through the collections
The art of flowers
Eight encounters with flowers, from a Dutch bouquet to Japanese irises and Monet’s floating lilies.
Look for the different ways a flower occupies an image: gathered into a vase, floating on water, branching into empty space or studied one stem at a time. Paintings and prints from several places sit together here for their visual affinities.
Follow a work
Print & drawing
Basket of Peonies
Katsushika Hokusai
1810 or 1814
Associated place: Japan
Red peonies spill from their basket; the open space above gives the arrangement room to breathe.
Print & drawing
Blossoms
1625
Associated place: China
Follow the branch across the paper and notice how much of the image is left unpainted.
Painting
Flowers in a Glass
Ambrosius Bosschaert
1606
Associated place: Netherlands, Kingdom of the Netherlands
Bright petals emerge from a dark ground. Look closely at the small details around the glass.
Painting
Water Lilies (Agapanthus)
Claude Monet
c. 1915–26
Associated place: France
Flowers become part of a larger surface of colour, with water and reflections filling the frame.
Print & drawing
Anomatheca Cruenta, Vieusseuxie Pavonia (Iris Pavonia–Moreaea Pavonia), Plate 111 from A. C. Van Eeden's "Flora of Haarlem"
Arentine H. Arendsen
ca. 1881
Place of origin: Belgium
Each stem stays legible against the pale page, inviting comparison of the different flower shapes.
Print & drawing
White and Purple Irises
Katsushika Hokusai
early 1800s
Associated place: Japan
The long format lets the irises unfold as a continuous rhythm of leaves and blooms.
Painting
Flowers from Normandy
Henri Fantin-Latour
1887
Place depicted: Normandy, France
A tall glass gathers the stems while loose flowers on the table soften the arrangement’s edge.