Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom

Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom is a wide-ranging visual survey of how flowers have been represented across art, history and culture. It brings together imagery from different continents and traditions, highlighting the enduring appeal of floral motifs and the many ways they have been used by artists and image-makers.

Illustrated with 316 colour images, the book moves through a broad mix of styles and media, including art, botanical illustration and sculpture, as well as floral arrangements, film stills and textiles. Works are sequenced to create thoughtful pairings across periods, encouraging revealing juxtapositions. Large-scale images are supported by accessible text, offering an introduction to the subject while also presenting unexpected examples for specialists. Featured contributors include Nobuyoshi Araki, Cecil Beaton, Georg Ehret, David Hockney, Horst P. Horst, Nick Knight, Yayoi Kusama, Leonardo da Vinci, Robert Mapplethorpe, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Cedric Morris, William Morris, Georgia O'Keeffe, Irving Penn, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Rachel Ruysch, Constance Spry and Flora Starkey. Entries were selected by an international panel spanning art historians, museum curators, botanists, florists and horticulturalists.

Key details

• 316 colour illustrations
• Covers floral motifs across art, history and culture
• Includes a range of media from botanical illustration to textiles and film stills
• Large-scale images with accessible supporting text
• Entries selected by an international panel of specialists

Synopsis

A journey across continents and cultures, this book explores the many ways flowers have been used as motifs by artists and image-makers throughout history. A visually led sequence pairs works across periods to create engaging contrasts, spanning art, botanical illustration, sculpture, floral arrangements, film stills and textiles.