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| White Lilacs in a Crystal Vase (1882), Manet |
For this post, I was inspired by the red-violet lilac bush that is finally blooming in my yard this Spring. Édouard Manet painted White Lilacs in a Crystal Vase in 1882. Notice how soft the flower petals are depicted against the detail of the glass vase.
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| Palm Springs Floral Arrangement (2021), Patterson |
I painted a bouquet of hydrangeas, lilies, and orchids in a very similar square glass vase using watercolors, achieving an impressionistic composition. Seeing how a master artist represented lilacs makes me proud of how a novice like me captured the texture of white hydrangeas. I also like the modern glass beads at the bottom of my vase.
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| Lilacs in a Window (1880-83), Cassatt |
Mary Cassatt also captured lilacs in her painting, Lilacs in a Window (1880-1883). I especially like the lighting, and the mixture of lavender and white lilacs perched in an open garden window. This is an oil painting in an Impressionist style, even softer than the Manet above.
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| Lilac Bush (1889), Van Gogh |
Vincent Van Gogh also painted a lilac bush, although much bushier than my own scraggly one. Because of the detail of his foliage, the execution of the bush departs from the better-known brushstrokes found in the background and to the right.
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| Alliums and Lace (2017), Stafford |
Alliums are very similar to lilacs but in a spherical, ball shape. You almost have to be a Pointillist in order to capture the texture and multiple hues. Here’s a painting by a Fine Art America colleague, Natalie Stafford. I love the shadow at the bottom left corner!
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| Monet |
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| Manet |
I’ve blogged about peonies and the paintings of bouquets by Claude Monet and Édouard Manet. Pretty different interpretations! I use the Manet version for lessons about positive-negative space, and the Monet for comparison.
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| Young Woman with Peonies (1870), Bazille |
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| Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase (1886), Van Gogh |
I also enjoy Van Gogh‘s interpretation of peonies. And I also found this portrait of a black woman by Frederic Bazille. It’s really like three separate painting — the flowers in the foreground, the bouquet of peonies, and the portrait of the woman.
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| Still Life with Irises (1890), Van Gogh |
Of course, everyone loves Van Gogh’s irises. I guess I never noticed the dark outlines of the flowers before. Of course, Van Gogh still use a lot of yellow in his paintings! I enjoy his saturated colors and high contrast and the feelings they invoke.
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| Bleeding Heart (1932), O’Keefe |
There are several other May flowers I could show you, but I’m not as interested in Lily of the Valley and Bleeding Hearts. Georgia O’Keefe did paint bleeding hearts, although in my opinion not as impressive as many of her other floral closeups.
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| Lily-of-the-Valley (1886), Lucas |
