10 Famous Flower Paintings

If humans forget how majestic nature can be, floral paintings are always there to remind us of its beauty. Through different approaches and techniques, artists who paint flowers pay a modest tribute to nature. Here are 10 famous flower paintings to discover or rediscover!

1. Garden, Pacino di Bonaguida

Created in 1335, the Garden of Pacino di Bonaguida impresses us by its modernity. The bipartite composition of this work expresses the balance between wild nature and plants disciplined by the human hand. Pacino di Bonaguida represents above all the beauty of flowers, dazzling even at night.

2. Spring, Giuseppe Arcimboldo

A merging of still life and portraiture, this painting praises the opulence of the prestigious House of Habsburg. Above all, the work of Giuseppe Arcimboldo fascinates by its composition. Like a natural puzzle, the plants pile up and intermingle to form a face in profile. A cocktail of colors, floral details and enchanting shapes.

3. The Iris, famous flower paintings, by Vincent Van Gogh

Inspired by Impressionism and Pointillism, Van Gogh’s paintings also highlight Fauvism and Expressionism. Of all his famous flower paintings, the most known is certainly Iris. He painted this picture a year before his death, in the asylum of the Saint Paul de Mausole monastery. Van Gogh saw painting as an outlet, the only way to avoid going mad. Strongly influenced by the Japanese artist Ukiyo-e, the Iris is a painting full of sweetness and dynamism.

4. Claude Monet’s famous flower paintings, The Nymphéas

Described by Monet as “his small contribution to France,” The Nymphéas are now very famous paintings. And for good reason: Monet painted a series of over 200 paintings! It was the project of the last 31 years of his life, an amazing gift to the Musée de l’Orangerie.

5. The language of flowers, Alfons Mucha

Painter, poster artist, graphic designer, illustrator and art teacher, Mucha dedicated his artistic creation to the art nouveau. The language of flowers is a magnificent lithography in color. It is part of a series composed of Byzantine and Woman with a daisy. Thanks to its harmonious curves, its pale colors and its black outlines, this work perfectly combines softness and power.

6. Bauerngarten, among the famous flower paintings of Gustav Klimt

Sunflowers, forget-me-nots, poppies, daisies, roses… Klimt left behind famous floral paintings, whose beauty still moves us today. Bauerngarten – or Country Garden – captivates us with its balance between harmony of colors and freedom in composition. A true ode to flora, this Impressionist painting expresses all the strength of the perfection of nature in its wild state. Thanks to the green, the red and the touches of blue mix to form a naturally grandiose bazaar.

7. Flowers of the Abyss by René Magritte

This painting expresses all the difficulty of a period of depression for Magritte. But it was also the time when he met André Breton and became part in the Surrealist movement. The result is this painting, as intriguing as it is indocile.

8. Dalinae Viola Cogitans, Salvador Dalí

Ten years after his Meditative Rose, Dalí produces 15 lithographs of “Surrealist flowers”. He explored his favorite themes with an undisguised enthusiasm and creativity that was as impressive as ever. In his works, musical notes come out of the pistils and the flowers seem to hold the keys to time. His Dalinae Viola Cogitans, is humanized, with a foot-root, leaf-hands and eyes-flowers. In the center, one could even discern a moustache on a yellow flower. Perhaps an attempt at a self-portrait in flowers?

9. Untiled, Robert Combas

Figurative street artist, Robert Combas, is at the origin of the free figuration movement. Today he is considered one of the most important French artists of his generation. His work Untitled is a tribute to the power and natural beauty of flowers.

10. Dancing on the Full Moon, Sofia Fotiadou

Contemporary Surrealist painter, Sofia Fotiadou, distorts flowers to let the viewer’s imagination run wild. A parallel world in which the standards of toxic beauty have no more sense, only natural splendor and the infinity of our imagination remain.

Famous flower paintings in an ecological voice?

For several decades, Man has been drawing on nature to satisfy his needs and desires. However, we know today that such destruction of natural resources leads humanity to its demise. In this context, flower paintings can be a new way to promote ecology. Not by direct action, but by a glorification of nature with which humans must reconnect.