This richly illustrated book provides an overview of all known Dutch and Flemish artists up to the nineteenth century, who painted or drew flower pieces, or else made prints of them.

Details of the lives of the painters and the story of the development of this genre

At the time of the great tulip speculation of the 1630s in Holland, the most desirable tulip bulbs were auctioned for more money than the most expensive houses in Amsterdam. At the same time flower paintings which were remarkable for their apparent realism were produced all over Holland and purchased by Dutch families as enduring substitutes for the real thing. This beautiful book reveals the fascinating genesis and growth of a whole genre of paintings that has rarely been studied. Paul Taylor begins by discussing Holland's 'tulipomania' and its effect on the way people thought about floral still lifes. He then considers the religious messages associated with the flower paintings, exploring how religious writers spoke of flowers as moral signposts from God and how some flower paintings were meant to remind viewers of the transience of earthly existence. Flower paintings were not bought only as records of luxury objects or for moral edification, however. They were also enjoyed as works of art, as masterpieces of illusion, composition and colour harmony, so Taylor analyses the art-theoretical writings of the time in order to understand how artists and connoisseurs responded to flower pieces. He concludes by analysing the paintings themselves, tracing the development and refinement of the actual practice of flower painting.

As an art student in 1993, Michael De Feo drew a simple bloom that became a familiar and welcome presence in New York after he spent countless nights pasting hundreds of versions of it all over the city’s building walls. Twenty-five years later, these flowers have been sighted in more than 60 international cities. His street works took a new direction in 2015 when a guerrilla art collective provided him access to the cases that protect bus-shelter ads, enabling him to launch a beautiful campaign of his blossoms on top of fashion ads. His art has taken many forms, including a substantial body of studio work inspired by Dutch 17th-century paintings and another series which married floral themes with Pre-Raphaelite and Victorian portraiture. De Feo’s colorful and lively book reproduces more than 200 of his flower-inspired images and features commentary from a diverse group of people who have supported his often-clandestine work.

This richly illustrated book provides an overview of all known Dutch and Flemish artists up to the nineteenth century, who painted or drew flower pieces, or else made prints of them.