Plants & Flowers
Plants and Flowers in Art: Botanical Details
A flower in a painting is rarely just a flower. It can mark a season, signal mortality, or carry a coded message between lovers. This gallery zooms into the blossoms, leaves, and garlands scattered through the collection — botanical details so precise you can often name the species. Click any detail to see the full work.
24 details · cropped from original museum images
anthropomorphic flower (face)
Odilon Redon · Strange Flower (Little Sister of the Poor)
Art Institute of Chicago
central cluster of trees
Possibly by John Constable (English, 1776-1837) · River Bank with Trees (recto); Herd of Cattle Beneath Trees, with Inset Sketch of Landscape (verso)
Art Institute of Chicago
central clump of trees
Constant Troyon (French, 1810–1865) · A Clump of Trees
Art Institute of Chicago
entire flower bouquet
Adolphe Monticelli · Flowers in a Blue Vase
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Overall mass of pansies
Henri Fantin-Latour · Potted Pansies
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Entire chrysanthemum bouquet
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919) · Chrysanthemums
Art Institute of Chicago
tree in full bloom
William Turner · Study of a Tree in Bloom
Art Institute of Chicago
Dominant large tree
Camille Corot · The Ferryman
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
central open magnolia bloom
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904) · Magnolias on Light Blue Velvet Cloth
Art Institute of Chicago
main central bouquet
Gustave Courbet · Spring Flowers
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
entire bouquet of roses
Henri Fantin-Latour · Roses in a Bowl
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
pile of peaches
Auguste Renoir · Still Life with Peaches and Grapes
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Large central tree
Joos de Momper, II (Flemish, 1564-1635) · Mountain Road with Travelers
Art Institute of Chicago
Bouquet of summer flowers
Henri Fantin-Latour · Summer Flowers
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
rose hedge
Wilhelm Trübner · Rose Hedge
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
hanging upper potato
De Scott Evans · The Irish Question
Art Institute of Chicago
Large cypress tree on the left
Vincent van Gogh · Cypresses
Art Institute of Chicago
main gnarled tree
Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña · The Edge of the Woods
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Massive tree trunk on the left (Te raau rahi)
Paul Gauguin (French, 1848–1903) · Te raau rahi (The Big Tree)
Art Institute of Chicago
massive oak tree
Théodore Rousseau · The Edge of the Woods at Monts-Girard, Fontainebleau Forest
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
central blasted tree
Jasper Francis Cropsey (American, 1823–1900) · Blasted Tree
Art Institute of Chicago
overall view of the lush bouquet
Peter Faes · Flowers in a Stone Vase
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
large group of trees from center to left
William A. Harper · The Trees, Early Afternoon, France
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
large central tree
Théodore Rousseau (French, 1812–1867) · Landscape
Art Institute of Chicago
Go deeper
Closer looks and hidden meanings within plants & flowers.
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
Gardens in Art
Clipped hedges, fountains, flower beds and shaded paths — the garden is where painting goes to relax. Tranquil corners of the collection’s gardens, up close.
20 details
Flowers, Up Close
Roses, peonies, blossoms and bouquets — simply some of the most beautiful passages in all of painting, seen up close. (For what each bloom means, see Flower Symbolism.)
20 details