Bloemen met bessen 1755 - 1775

Johann Heinrich Hess created this print called 'Flowers with Berries' using etching techniques. Prints such as this one circulated widely in eighteenth-century Europe, a time when art and design served as powerful indicators of social status. Consider how wealthy families would use prints as inspiration for elaborate floral arrangements to adorn their homes. These displays served as a visual language of power, a symbolic representation of their affluence and global reach, as exotic flowers and fruits made their way into European households through colonial trade routes. This print develops traditional representations of still-life art by focusing on the decorative potential of plants. The print uses the natural world to explore themes of social identity and status. Though seemingly simple, artworks like this reveal a complex interplay of social, economic, and aesthetic values.