Few artworks can capture the universal admiration of audiences quite like those that feature flowers. The familiar and humble beauty depicted in such works is recognizable to even the most uninitiated of gallery visitors, for whom all other art might seem obscure or intimidating. While those with more specialized knowledge of mythology, ecology, or floriography might admire the allegorical or symbolic details often hidden within floral artworks, one need not be conversant with these specialties to appreciate the aesthetic qualities of flowers and thus engage with these artworks. It is safe to say that flowers have perhaps inspired more appreciation of beauty than anything else in the natural world for both artists and laymen alike.
Bartolomé Pérez, “Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase,” 17th century, oil on canvas, 36 1/4 × 29 1/2 inches. Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Bequest of Jack G. and Mary Taylor, 1991.106
Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase by Bartolomé Pérez, currently on display in the European Art gallery of Austin’s Blanton Museum of Art, is one such artwork that encourages viewers to meditate on the qualities of flowers and beauty. The blossoms in Pérez’s painting seem to glow with life against an inky background, yet their drooping stems, crumpling petals, and fading vibrancy forebode the inevitable arrival of rot and decay. True to the genre of vanitas artworks (which remind viewers of mortality), Flowers in a Glass Vase challenges its audience to accept that the radiant beauty before us is ultimately fleeting, fragile, and doomed to be swallowed by encroaching darkness.
A second glance at the painting reveals how perfectly Pérez understood this theme, not just through his portrayal of his painting’s subjects, but also in his selection of the subjects themselves. Flowers bloom only for a short time before wilting, a fitting symbol for an artwork concerned with the transience of life and beauty. We find ourselves considering an unsettling question: “If beauty fades, is beauty futile?”
The ephemeral beauty presented in Perez’ painting is not just a theme in art history, but also a very real part of our lives, often making itself known through sensations of nostalgia, grief, and longing. Does the fact that beautiful things cannot last forever render them pointless and hollow? Or does their mortality instead heighten their beauty, urging us to more deeply enjoy them when they come our way, enabling us to better appreciate their occurrence when we have been acquainted with their absence?
While the contemplation of art may have instigated the asking of these questions, one need not possess the experience of an artist or art historian to respond. Instead, the existence of flowers outside the realm of art history can provide our answer. We’ve all seen flowers blooming in front yard gardens, bequeathed to laureates at moments of apotheosis, crowded on nightstands in hospital rooms, and tucked into the base moldings of gravestones. Ultimately, the ubiquitous presence of flowers in both art and life reminds us that every moment, even the transient and tragic, can benefit from the presence of a little more beauty.
Arianne Ohman is the winner of Glasstire’s 2024 Central Texas Art Writing Prize.
