Last weekend, I had a chance to visit NYC for the first time and of course, I could not miss the MET. It is a grand museum with a lot to see so I created a kind of game for myself: I was trying to spot how different artists and cultures depicted flowers. You can see the whole palette of depictions there – realistic works, my beloved impressionist works by Monet…
Why flowers? Firstly, I am a huge fan of Monet which already explains a lot. Secondly, I think there is so much space for artistic depiction when you work with flowers – so many shades, shapes, colors and angles you can pick. It is always fascinating to see how these are perceived and produced through the eyes of different painters.
So, I decided to collect my favourites at the MET, and here they come!
“Chrysanthemums” by Claude Monet, 1882
First exhibited in Paris, at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in 1883.
“Bouquet of Sunflowers” by Claude Monet, 1881
Depiction of “still life” of sunflowers.
“Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase” by Vicent van Gogh, 1890
“Bouquet of Chrysanthemums” by Auguste Renoir, 1881
“When I paint flowers, I feel free to try out tones and values and worry less about destroying the canvas”.
“Still Life with Flowers and Prickly Pears” by Auguste Renoir, 1885
“Chrysanthemums in the Garden at Petit-Gennevilliers” by Gustave Caillebotte, 1893
“Summer Flowers” by Henri Fantin-Latour, 1880
Henri Fantin-Latour was famous for his flower paintings in vases and established a clientele specifically for that.
“Sunflowers” by Vincent van Gogh, 1887
Originally acquired by Paul Gauguin who considered it one of his most priceless possessions.
“Flowering Orchard” by Vincent van Gogh, 1888
The angular, elongated branches of trees were inspired by van Gogh’s admiration of the Japanese prints.
“Iries” by Vincent van Gogh, 1890
“Roses” by Vincent van Gogh, 1890
From the same set of the 4 paintings of still life as “Iries” that van Gogh painted during his asylum in Saint-Rémy.
“Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses” by Paul Cézanne, 1890
This painting was once owned by the ardent gardener, Claude Monet
These were my favourite flower paintings at MET – and this is only from the European paintings section which does not even comprise 10% of the museum. If you really like art, MET is a great place to visit: it has such as a variety of art works, that you can definitely find something to your taste.
Kat's Thoughts 
These are beautiful!
It has been…oh gosh. 20 something years since I last went to the MET. I want to go as an adult, I think I would appreciate it a lot more!
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I loved it – you will definitely find something that resonates with you there!
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Beautiful shots! Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh are my absolute favorites !!! 🙂
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I love their art too 🙂
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