PEONY, LILY AND ROSEWOOD. In the Maire Gullichsen and Modernism Series
Birger Carlstedt, Saara Ekström, Ester Helenius, Heli Hiltunen, Nanna Hänninen, Ismo Kajander, Johanna Kiivaskoski, Liisa Pesonen, Tapani Raittila, Adam Saks, Janne Sammalmaa, Päivi Setälä, Ellen Thesleff, Olavi Turtola, Lyyli Visanti, Irina Zatulovskaja
Flowers and plants were popular motifs in art already in the classical period. Bringing flowers as a present is an ancient tradition; flowers can express love, apology, or congratulation for an achievement. Flowers have their own refined language that, in our times, has been almost forgotten. In fine art, flower paintings emerged as a genre in the late 16th Century, and The Netherlands became the centre of the flower and still life style in the 17th Century. Artists would specialize in different motifs, and flower and fruit painters were the most well-known ones. The still lives were often very symbolic and reminded the viewer of the transience of life.