Flowers for mom 

Antonio Paoletti painted this view of Venice, showing girls with "Flowers for Mom". The medium here is oil paint, applied with brushes to create a convincing illusion of reality. But the real story is in the subject of the painting: the flowers themselves, displayed in woven baskets. It may seem like a detail, but consider that those baskets are themselves handmade objects, constructed with skills passed down through generations. Flowers are a seasonal product, requiring careful cultivation, and quick transport to market, while the making of the woven baskets involves its own skilled labour. All this to supply a gift for mothers, a token of love circulating in a booming consumer economy. So the painting is not just a charming scene of Venetian life. It's also a document of its time, recording the integration of art and craft into the social fabric of everyday life.