Flora symbolica: flowers in pre-Raphaelite art

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This bouquet of romantic paintings brings together two important aspects of Victorian life - the Pre-Raphaelite movement and the language of flowers. Few artistic movements capture classic notions of beauty as romantically as the Pre-Raphaelites - a group of 19th-century painters and poets who aimed to revive the purer art of the late mediaeval period. Brilliantly coloured and carefully composed, Pre-Raphaelite paintings are revered for their idealistic portrayal of women, their emphasis on nature and morality, and their use of literature and mythology. Flowers figure prominently in many of these paintings, the blooms as physically lush as they are laden with symbolism. For this was the Victorian era, when the language of flowers was spoken by everyone. In this volume, Debra N. Mancoff presents 40 examples which illuminate the meaning of flowers in all aspects of Victorian culture. She offers brief commentaries on individual paintings as well as biographies of the period's leading artists and their models. An introduction to an artistic movement, this work is also a romantic keepsake of an artistic sensibility.