Bloemen 1710 - 1772

This delicate sketch of a flower was made by Petrus Johannes van Reysschoot in the 18th century. Here, the carnation is depicted with a close attention to botanical detail. Yet, beyond mere representation, flowers have long served as potent symbols. Consider the "Flos Virginis," or "flower of the Virgin," an epithet linking the purity of the Virgin Mary to the untainted beauty of a bloom. In medieval tapestries and Renaissance paintings, floral motifs often frame sacred figures, imbuing them with divine qualities. This echoes in van Reysschoot's work, where the carnation, with its ruffled edges, gains symbolic depth. The language of flowers, once a vital form of communication, imbued each bloom with specific meanings. This language taps into our collective memory and resurfaces across epochs, linking us to the past.