Japanese Cherry Blossoms

• Cherry blossoms hold a special significance for the Japanese.cherry blossom image by fumie from Fotolia.com
  
  The Japanese have painted the cherry blossom for centuries. Japanese history holds this flower in high regard. The flower dominates the Japanese landscape for a maximum of three weeks a year, then the breathtaking beauty fades as the blossoms fall. According to research by Stephanie Cargile, a student at St. Olaf College, to the Japanese this fleeting beauty symbolizes the temporary nature of life. The form and color of the blossoms also reflect the "traditional Japanese values of purity and simplicity." The symbol of the cherry blossom goes one step further with its tie to the samurai culture, reinforcing the transience of the life of the samurai.
  
  

Monet' s Water Lilies

• For Monet, the water lily played an important symbolic role.Water lilies in lake image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com
  
  To Claude Monet, water lilies were symbolic. Earlier in his life, he used water lilies in his paintings to explore the effects of light throughout the day as it reflected on a pond at Giverny, France. C.P. Weekes, author of "The Invincible Monet," says, "Even his pictures, which to modern eyes appear the essence of romance, were to him scientifically exact reproductions of the effect of light on nature at any given moment." Monet's water lily paintings began to parallel his growing love for Alice Hoschede, who later became his wife. The flowers' reflection in the pond became more pronounced, and the lilies themselves appeared more intricate. As Monet's love for Alice evolved, the water lily series grew increasingly focused.
  
  

Georgia O'Keeffe's Botanicals

• The iris and other botanicals were a favorite subject matter for Georgia O'Keeffe.black iris image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com
  
  Georgia O'Keeffe is famous for still-life compositions that reflected her personal vision of nature. Her floral subjects like the black iris allow a viewer to not only see but experience a flower, noticing aspects never noticed before. She concerned herself with people ignoring the beauty in life. Georgia O'Keeffe expressed her intention in her own words: "Most people in the city rush around so they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not."
  
  

Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers

• Sunflowers held a personal meaning for Van Gogh.Sunflowers image by Olga Luttseva from Fotolia.com
  
  Van Gogh painted many canvases of sunflowers that now hang in the National Museum in London. Sunflowers are extremely significant to Van Gogh, because they represent a rare optimistic outlook in his painting. The National Museum website tells of the artist's loneliness turning hopeful as he dreamed of establishing an artists' community with his friend and mentor Paul Gauguin. The color yellow for Van Gogh symbolized happiness, but conversely, the decaying aspect of the flowers reminds the viewer of the inevitable cycle of life and death.
  
  

Flowers and Lilla Cabot Perry

• To Lilla Cabot Perry, the flower expressed the essence of femininity.morning glory image by Florin Capilnean from Fotolia.com
  
  Lilla Cabot Perry, first in her poetry and then in her art, demonstrated her fascination with flowers. Critics believe that the flower to Perry symbolized femininity, as she used them in her portraits of her daughters and later of female models who sat for her. At first glance, the viewer might associate her style with her mentor Monet's artistic approach. This might be true to a certain extent, but her experiences as a mother seem to have a greater influence on her art. The flowers in her paintings seem to represent a "feminine consciousness." As stated in "The Flowers of Lilla Cabot Perry, "Perry began using flowers as an aesthetic tool to reflect her own emotions on women."