A Bowl of Flowers
- Artist: Marie Blancour
- Date: 1650s
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is "A Bowl of Flowers" by Marie Blancour. Painted in the seventeenth century, this beautiful still life depicts a terracotta pot overflowing with a variety of flowers. Our eye is led deeper into the picture by the large red poppy head facing away from us and the viburnum head at the lower left, which is partly in shadow to suggest it's further away.
Notice how the flowers are not all blooming at the same time. Blancour must have worked from individual studies made throughout the year to create this fictional arrangement. The choice of flowers was likely intentional, as some had symbolic meanings during the seventeenth century - anemones represented faith, tulips desire, and narcissi self-absorption.
The artist's use of light and shadow creates a sense of depth, making the flowers look three-dimensional. However, Blancour is less successful than other flower painters, like Rachel Ruysch, in using these effects to lead our eye deeper into the picture. Nevertheless, "A Bowl of Flowers" remains a charming and intricate work that showcases the beauty of nature.
See it in person
A Bowl of Flowers hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
