Art in Bloom
6 artworks from 6 artists across 3 galleries
The tour is ordered to begin from the Michigan Avenue entrance. If you are starting in the Modern Wing, simply do your tour in reverse order.
During spring and summer, the museum's gardens are bursting with blossoms. See this blooming bounty year-round in the museum’s galleries.
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The Interior of the Palm House on the Pfaueninsel Near Potsdam
Carl Blechen
Gallery 221, second level, Arts of Europe: Painting and Sculpture Galleries
The work of Carl Blechen, a pivotal figure in 19th-century German painting, marks a transition from Romanticism to a more realistic view of nature. Inspired in part by his encounter with the Italian landscape and light during a trip he made around 1828 or 1829, Blechen developed a fluid technique that enabled him to capture fleeting atmospheric effects. He often used his landscapes as settings for mysterious figures, reflecting his early contact with Romantic painting and theater."The Palm House, depicted here, was a space where the Prussian royals displayed their tropical plant collection. With its lush palms and overgrown greenery, Blechen's painting emphasized the Palm House's beautiful blending of architecture and nature."
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Still Life with Grapes and Flowers
Mélanie de Comoléra
Gallery 221, second level, Arts of Europe: Painting and Sculpture Galleries
In this exquisite still life, Mélanie de Comoléra skillfully depicted a variety of flowers, fruits, and other luxury objects. On a marble ledge sits a wide bowl, overflowing with grapes and plums. Behind it, a glass pitcher holds a mix of colorful flowers. In the foreground, key limes and jalapeño peppers, botanical species that are not indigenous to Europe, evoke themes of colonialism and global trade."De Comoléra was trained as a flower painter—a specialty at the time—and is best known for the painted porcelains she created for the Manufacture national de Sèvres, one of France's leading porcelain factories, still in operation today."
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Chrysanthemums
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Gallery 201, second level, Arts of Europe: Painting and Sculpture Galleries
“I just let my brain rest when I paint flowers,” Pierre-Auguste Renoir remarked. “I don’t experience the same tension as I do when confronted by the model. When I am painting flowers, I establish the tones, I study the values carefully without worrying about losing the picture. I don’t dare do this with a figure piece for fear of ruining it.”
"Flowers feature prominently in many of Renoir's works. He used them as a subject for experimentation, feeling less compelled to represent them accurately and more intent on capturing their luminosity."
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On a Balcony
Mary Cassatt
Gallery 273, second level, Arts of the Americas Galleries
Shown at the 1880 Impressionist exhibition, 'On a Balcony' depicts a woman in a private garden surrounded by flowers rendered in energetic brushstrokes of red, blue, yellow, and pink. Cassatt signaled the modernity of her subject through the woman’s choice of reading material: she peruses a newspaper rather than a novel, demonstrating that even at home, Cassatt’s subjects are connected to the contemporary world."Cassatt often used flowers in her figurative paintings to frame the setting of her subjects. Here, Cassatt's sitter is nestled among a bounty of potted plants and wears a morning dress, details that signal the intimacy of the location."
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Pitcher
Edward C. Moore
Gallery 273, second level, Arts of the Americas Galleries
An asymmetrical water scene wraps around the body of this pitcher. The vignette was almost certainly inspired by the work of Katsushika Hokusai, a Japanese artist known for his dynamic woodblock prints of the natural world. Tiffany and Company’s design library included three volumes of Hokusai’s work, many featuring the same graceful irises, enlivened dragonflies, and splashing carp visible on this pitcher."This pitcher's elegant irises—and other designs—were realized through a combination of hammering, engraving, and applied metal elements."
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Cabinet
Herter Brothers
Gallery 273, second level, Arts of the Americas Galleries
Herter Brothers, one of New York’s foremost decorating firms during the 1870s and 1880s, followed the lead of English designers intent on reforming an industry that produced poorly conceived and constructed work. Advocates for beautiful and functional designs, the Herter Brothers created bold, rectilinear shapes whose exquisite surface decoration was inspired by Japanese art, an influence prevalent throughout the West at this time."Flowers are without a doubt the main decorative feature here. The painted roundels featuring flowers and insects at the top emulate Japanese lacquer, while the floral inlay across the facade is reminiscent of Japanese screen paintings and textiles."
