Symbolism
Flower Symbolism in Art: What Blossoms Mean
A flower in a painting is rarely just decoration. A lily promises purity, a tulip hints at wealth and folly, a poppy whispers of sleep and death. This gallery zooms into the symbolic blooms scattered through the collection. Click any detail to see the full work and the message it carries.
24 details · cropped from original museum images
What these details mean
A quick guide to the most common flowers in Western painting and their meanings:
- Lily
- Purity and the Virgin Mary; in funerary art, death and resurrection.
- Rose
- Love — red for passion, white for innocence — and an attribute of the Virgin.
- Tulip
- In Dutch art, wealth and the folly of speculation during "tulip mania."
- Carnation
- Betrothal and married love; often held by sitters in marriage portraits.
- Poppy
- Sleep, dreams, and death.
- Iris
- The sorrows of the Virgin and, as the fleur-de-lis, French royalty.
entire bouquet of roses
Henri Fantin-Latour · Roses in a Bowl
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
rose hedge
Wilhelm Trübner · Rose Hedge
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Entire bouquet of irises
Vincent van Gogh · Irises
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
bouquet of white roses
Henri Fantin-Latour · Still Life with Roses and Fruit
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
single white rose on the ground
Gabriel Max · The Last Token: A Christian Martyr
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
top-most cream rose
Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836–1904) · Roses in a Bowl
Art Institute of Chicago
poppy field
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) · Poppy Field (Giverny)
Art Institute of Chicago
front-facing red poppy
Odilon Redon (French, 1840–1916) · Flowers: Poppies and Daisies
Art Institute of Chicago
Thicket of white wild roses
Chai Zhenyi 柴貞儀 and Chai Jingyi 柴靜儀 · Flowers and Insects
Art Institute of Chicago
Rose Garland (Symbol of the Rosary)
Netherlandish (Brussels) Painter · The Fifteen Mysteries and the Virgin of the Rosary
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
white rose
Peter Faes · Flowers by a Stone Vase
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
lower left water lily cluster
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) · Water Lilies
Art Institute of Chicago
central white rose
Vincent van Gogh · Roses
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Cluster of irises in the center-right
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) · Irises
Art Institute of Chicago
pale purple iris
Nicolaes van Veerendael · A Bouquet of Flowers in a Crystal Vase
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
central red poppy
Odilon Redon · Bouquet of Flowers
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Large pink rose
Adriaen van der Spelt (Dutch, 1630–1673) · Trompe-l'Oeil Still Life with a Flower Garland and a Curtain
Art Institute of Chicago
White poppy flower
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (English, 1828–1882) · Beata Beatrix
Art Institute of Chicago
central white rose
Peter Faes · Flowers in a Stone Vase
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
large white rose
Charlotte Eustache Sophie de Fuligny Damas, marquise de Grollier · Still Life with a Vase of Flowers, Melon, Peaches, and Grapes
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pink rose in foreground
Rachel Ruysch · Rachel Ruysch (1664–1750)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
large grey iris (Iris susiana)
Attributed to Jan Brueghel the Elder (Flemish, 1568–1625) · Bouquet of Flowers in an Earthenware Vase
Art Institute of Chicago
variegated tulip (red and yellow)
Jacob Vosmaer · A Vase with Flowers
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
blooming pink roses
French Painter · Still Life with Strawberries
The Metropolitan Museum of Art