Eleanor Roosevelt is reported to have said 'I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.'
Many famous people have been honoured with having roses named after them. Elizabeth Taylor, Claude Monet, Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci and Ingrid Bergman. Princess Diana has two.
Looking back into history, there is a strong tradition of associating the Virgin Mary with the white rose. Before the Fall, roses in the Garden of Eden were supposedly thornless. The thorns only appeared with original sin. The Virgin Mary, who conceived Jesus without sin, is often referred to as a 'rose without thorns'. Entirely pure.
In contrast to the white rose is the red rose that is associated with her son, Jesus. Red like the blood that he shed for our sins.
It has been said that his thorny crown was made of a twisted stalk of a rose, henceforth the symbol of passion and religious devotion, representing both life and its transience.
The rose in Christian mythology, to a degree, is an adaptation of the much older pagan myths where the rose is associated with Aphrodite.
The association of the rose as a flower of lust, love, and beauty is, it seems, as ancient as history.
To hold the rose close is to harness the symbolic power of the Church and God.
The House of Lancaster and the House of York understood this when they chose roses as symbols – the former adopting the red rose, the latter the white rose.
It was not until 1829 when Sir Walter Scott coined the term the 'Wars of the Roses' that it was actually referred to as such. But, between 1455 and 1485, if you were in the possession of a white or red rose, everyone knew where your allegiance lay.
In 1485, Henry VII took the crown after the defeat of Richard III in battle. A Tudor (and a Lancastrian) Henry sought to seize the opportunity to unify the nation once and for all and stop the constant warring. He married Elizabeth of York, and recognising the importance of the floral symbol, created the Tudor Rose, five white petals in the centre for York surrounded by five red petals for Lancaster. The Tudor Rose would become an enduring symbol of England.
And so, we have the English Rose, fair and natural, always just, both Virgin and Christ unified. It pops up in art, carved into buildings, and sewn into royal outfits. Between 1982 and 2008, if you pulled out your wallet, you would have seen the Tudor Rose proudly embossed on the reverse of the 20 pence coin.
It was around this time that the Tudors perpetuated the Roman custom of hanging a rose overhead in a meeting room (or a painting or carving of a rose) to indicate confidentiality. What is said here, stays here. We still today use the term sub rosa which, like the Chatham House Rule, denotes secrecy.
Artists too have long depicted the rose, harnessing its associative power to add meaning to their work. Add a rose to a painting and it becomes more religious, more pious, more loving. Each flower has its own connotation so an artist has a plethora of options and, as a result, can be really specific in what message they are trying to convey to their audience. Animals too are awarded significance though usually of a more anthropomorphic nature. These tools are available to artists as props in paintings to create context.
In 1667, the art-theoretician André Félibien, Secretary to the French Academy, wrote a hierarchy of painting genres that would remain unchanged well into the nineteenth century. The hierarchy stated that history painting was the grandest and most honourable, followed by portraiture, genre painting (scenes of life), then landscape, followed by animals and, ranking lowest, still life painting. The reason? This was a period when idealism was revered over realism. To paint nature was mere decoration, pleasing to the eye but with little to stimulate the mind.
However, there were a few painters who tackled still life painting to great repute. One was Flemish artist Jan Brueghel the elder.
A close friend of Rubens, with whom he on occasion collaborated on paintings, Brueghel created jaw-dropping bouquets, often on copper grounds, which were elaborate and unbelievably intricate. The flowers in his arrangements rarely overlap, and the blooms are from different seasons making a cacophony of colour impossible to assemble in reality.
Another of the great still life painters was Jan van Huysum (who was also Flemish). His flowers were so lifelike that he was nicknamed the 'Phoenix of Flower Painters' for having revived this art form (although his father Justus was also a flower painter). His compositions are wilder than Brueghel's. The flowers ruffle across light grounds with architectural details peeping through the stalks and stems.
A third Dutch flower artist of note is Rachel Ruysch. With Van Huysum, she was the most celebrated exponent of flower painting in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Her incredibly detailed bouquets are painted in delicate colours. She is one of only eight female artists whose work hangs in London's National Gallery.
In each of these cases, flowers are not just a prop or symbol but are the central object of the painting. Being erudite artists informed of religious motifs and aspirations, coupled with ambitions for accurate scientific depiction, these works are no less religious than those of saints or biblical scenes. Not mere depictions of nature, they denote vanitas – the fleetingness of life, the fading of beauty and the inevitability of death. To achieve such realism is to celebrate the revelation of God in nature. More often than not, the rose was used to anchor these compositions.
The split of art and science came to the fore with the invention of photosensitive substances in the early nineteenth century. No longer did scientists have to rely on botanical drawings, imbued with artistic interpretations. Likewise, flower photography was incompatible with artistic needs as they rarely captured perfection but exposed the flaws in nature such as browning petals or broken stems.
The symbol of the rose endured and was still much used in nineteenth- and twentieth-century art. For example, in his painting of Ophelia in 1851, John Everett Millais placed a red rose next to her upward facing palm in the water to denote her love and impending death.
As photographic technology improved in the twentieth century, Robert Mapplethorpe would find a way to photograph roses in an alluring, sensual fashion.
As art shifted to the twenty-first century, the use of symbolism as a whole in art faded into abstraction and modernism.
Though not as abundantly used anymore, our understanding of the rose has changed little over time. It is still the flower of choice for lovers eager to express passion and is still found in places of worship as a devotional flower to the divine.
An exhibition that was supposed to open in Waddesdon Manor at the end of March 2020 (now postponed due to the coronavirus restrictions) of fashion photographer Nick Knight – 'Roses from my Garden' – is a reminder of the enduring beauty and power of the rose.
These large-scale prints arranged in the Coach House Gallery are luminously beautiful, if not slightly kitsch, and seem totally out of this world. Beholding them, I wonder if my reaction mirrors that of the audiences of Jan Brueghel, Rachel Ruysch or Jan van Huysum. They are seductive with an impossible, unearthly quality.
This flower series is a far cry from Knight's previous horticultural work Flora, published in 1997 as a response to the botanical collection at the Natural History Museum. Where these images look more like scientific illustrations, arranged flush on a white ground as though pressed on a photocopier, the new body of work boasts entirely different aesthetic. There is nothing clinical about them. They are romantic roses, colourful in the full spectrum of the sunset.
Knight photographed the roses from his own garden (as the exhibition title suggests) using natural light and an iPhone, and processed them through a virtual reality algorithm that infills the space between the pixels. At first glance, they look as though they might have been painted in a historical tradition but on closer analysis, one is left questioning what is real. The surface is entirely new. Devoid of all brushstrokes or photographic grain, all one can see is an ethereal plane with those big, beautiful roses. They are cutting-edge technology.
The rose lives on.
Maya Binkin, founder of The Art Pilgrim
Eleanor Roosevelt anaripotiwa kusema 'Nilikuwa na ua la waridi lililoitwa kwa jina langu na nilivutiwa sana. Lakini sikufurahia kusoma maelezo katika orodha: hakuna nzuri katika kitanda, lakini faini juu ya ukuta. ' Watu wengi mashuhuri wamepewa heshima ya kuwa na maua ya waridi yaliyoitwa kwa majina yao. Elizabeth Taylor, Claude Monet, Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci na Ingrid Bergman. Mwanamfalme Diana ana wawili. Katika historia ya kale, kuna utamaduni mkubwa wa kumhusisha Bikira Maria na waridi mweupe. Kabla ya kuanguka kwa Adamu, ilidhaniwa kwamba maua ya waridi katika Bustani ya Edeni hayakuwa na miiba. Miiba ilionekana tu pamoja na dhambi ya asili. Bikira Maria, ambaye alimzaa Yesu bila dhambi, mara nyingi huitwa 'rujuani bila miiba.' Safi kabisa. Tofauti na ua jeupe ni ua jekundu linalohusianishwa na mwana wake, Yesu. Mvua nyekundu kama damu aliyomwagilia kwa ajili ya dhambi zetu. "Imesemwa kwamba taji lake lenye miiba lilitengenezwa kwa shina la waridi lililozungukwa, ambalo tangu wakati huo lilikuwa ishara ya shauku na ujitoaji wa kidini, likionyesha maisha na upesi wake.""" Katika hadithi za Kikristo, waridi ni mfano wa hadithi za kipagani za kale zaidi ambazo zinaunganisha waridi na Aphrodite. Inaonekana kwamba rose ni ua la tamaa, upendo, na uzuri tangu kale sana. Kushikilia waridi karibu ni kutumia nguvu ya mfano ya Kanisa na Mungu. Nyumba ya Lancaster na Nyumba ya York walielewa hili walipochagua maua ya waridi kama alama - ya kwanza ikichukua maua ya waridi nyekundu, ya pili maua ya waridi nyeupe. "Hata hivyo, hadi mwaka 1829 Sir Walter Scott alipotunga neno ""Vita vya Waridi,"" vita hivyo vilianza kuenea sana." Lakini kati ya 1455 na 1485, ikiwa ulikuwa na waridi nyeupe au nyekundu, kila mtu alijua ni nani uliyemwamini. Mwaka 1485 Henry wa Saba alichukua taji la kifalme baada ya Richard wa Tatu kushindwa vitani. Henry, ambaye alikuwa mwana wa familia ya Tudor (na mwana wa Lancastrian), alitaka kutumia fursa hiyo kuunganisha taifa hilo mara moja na kwa ukamilifu na kukomesha vita vya daima. "Alimzaa Elizabeth wa York, ambaye alijua umuhimu wa maua ya Tudor, na akaunda ""Tudor Rose"" - petali tano nyeupe katikati ya York, kuzungukwa na petali tano nyekundu kwa Lancaster." Maua ya Tudor Rose yangekuwa ishara ya kudumu ya Uingereza. Kwa hiyo, tuna Rose ya Kiingereza, nzuri na ya asili, daima tu, wote Bikira na Kristo umoja. Inapatikana katika sanaa, imekatwa katika majengo, na kushonwa katika mavazi ya kifalme. "Kama wewe ni mtu wa zamani, unaweza kuona ""Tudor Rose"" kwenye sarafu ya senti 20." Wakati huo, Tudor waliendeleza desturi ya Waroma ya kunyongwa maua ya waridi juu ya kichwa katika chumba cha mikutano (au uchoraji au uchongaji wa maua ya waridi) ili kuonyesha usiri. Kile kinachosemwa hapa, hukaa hapa. Bado leo tunatumia neno sub rosa ambalo, kama Sheria ya Chatham House, linaonyesha siri. Wasanii pia wamekuwa wakionyesha ua la waridi kwa muda mrefu, wakitumia uwezo wake wa kuunganisha mambo ili kuongeza maana ya kazi yao. Ongeza ua la waridi kwenye mchoro na utakuwa mcha Mungu zaidi, mcha Mungu zaidi, mwenye upendo zaidi. Kila ua lina maana yake mwenyewe, kwa hivyo msanii ana chaguzi nyingi na, kama matokeo, anaweza kuwa maalum sana katika ujumbe ambao wanajaribu kuwasiliana na watazamaji wao. Wanyama pia hupewa umuhimu ingawa kwa kawaida ni wa asili ya kibinadamu zaidi. Vifaa hivi vinapatikana kwa wasanii kama vifaa katika michoro ili kuunda muktadha. Katika 1667, André Félicien, mwandishi wa Academy ya Ufaransa, aliandika hierarchy ya aina ya uchoraji ambayo ingebaki bila kubadilika katika karne ya kumi na tisa. "Historia ya uchoraji ilikuwa ""mtukufu zaidi na wenye heshima zaidi,"" ikifuatiwa na uchoraji wa picha, uchoraji wa aina (mashimo ya maisha), kisha mandhari, ikifuatiwa na wanyama, na, kwa nafasi ya chini, uchoraji wa maisha bado." Ni kwa nini? Huo ulikuwa kipindi ambapo itikadi nzuri ziliheshimiwa zaidi ya mambo halisi. Kuchora asili kulikuwa mapambo tu, yenye kupendeza kwa jicho lakini bila kuchochea akili sana. Hata hivyo, kulikuwa na wachoraji wachache waliochora picha za maumbile yasiyo hai na kupata sifa nzuri. Mmoja wao alikuwa msanii wa Flemish Jan Brueghel mzee. Kama rafiki wa karibu wa Rubens, ambaye mara kwa mara alishirikiana naye katika uchoraji, Brueghel aliunda bouquets za kuvutia, mara nyingi juu ya misingi ya shaba, ambazo zilikuwa ngumu na ngumu sana. Maua katika mpangilio wake mara chache overlap, na maua ni kutoka misimu tofauti kufanya cacophony ya rangi haiwezekani kukusanya katika hali halisi. Mchoraji mwingine mashuhuri wa maumbo yasiyo hai alikuwa Jan van Huysum (ambaye pia alikuwa Mflami). Maua yake yalikuwa halisi sana hivi kwamba alipewa jina la utani 'Phoenix wa Wachoraji wa Maua' kwa kuwa aliamsha tena aina hii ya sanaa (ingawa baba yake Justus pia alikuwa mchoraji wa maua). Nyimbo zake ni za kichaa kuliko za Brueghel. Maua hayo huchanua-chanua kwenye maeneo yenye nuru huku mambo ya usanifu-ujenzi yakitokea katikati ya shina na shina. Msanii wa tatu wa maua wa Uholanzi anayejulikana ni Rachel Ruysch. Pamoja na Van Huysum, alikuwa mtangazaji maarufu zaidi wa uchoraji wa maua mwishoni mwa karne ya kumi na saba na mapema karne ya kumi na nane. Maua yake yenye maelezo mengi sana yamechorwa kwa rangi nyembamba. Yeye ni mmoja wa wasanii wanane tu wa kike ambao kazi yao inasimama katika Jumba la Sanaa la Kitaifa la London. Katika kila moja ya visa hivyo, maua si kiashiria au ishara tu bali ni kitu kikuu cha mchoro huo. Kwa kuwa wasanii wenye elimu wanajua kuhusu mambo ya kidini na matakwa yao, pamoja na tamaa ya kuelezea mambo kwa njia ya kisayansi, kazi hizo si za kidini kama zile za watakatifu au za maonyesho ya Biblia. Si maonyesho tu ya asili, zinarejelea vanitas <unk> upesi wa maisha, kupungua kwa urembo na kutoweza kuepukika kwa kifo. Ili kufikia uhalisi kama huo ni kusherehekea ufunuo wa Mungu katika asili. Mara nyingi, waridi ilitumiwa kuunganisha nyimbo hizo. Tofauti kati ya sanaa na sayansi ilionekana wazi wakati vitu vinavyoweza kuathiriwa na mwangaza vilipogunduliwa mwanzoni mwa karne ya kumi na tisa. Wanasayansi hawakuwa tena na kutegemea michoro ya mimea, iliyotiwa ufafanuzi wa kisanii. Kwa hiyo, picha za maua hazikuweza kufanana na mahitaji ya kisanii, kwa kuwa hazikuweza kuonesha ukamilifu, lakini zilionyesha kasoro za asili, kama vile petali zilizochakaa au shina zilizovunjika. Ishara ya waridi iliendelea na bado ilitumiwa sana katika sanaa ya karne ya kumi na tisa na ya ishirini. Kwa mfano, katika mchoro wake wa Ophelia, John Everett Millais aliweka waridi nyekundu karibu na mkono wake ulioelekezwa juu katika maji ili kuonyesha upendo wake na kifo chake. Wakati teknolojia ya kupiga picha ilipoendelea katika karne ya ishirini, Robert Mapplethorpe alipata njia ya kupiga picha maua ya waridi kwa njia yenye kuvutia na yenye kuvutia. Kama sanaa ilibadilika kwa karne ya ishirini na moja, matumizi ya ishara kama jumla katika sanaa ilipotea katika abstract na kisasa. Ingawa maua hayo hayatumiwi sana sasa, maono yetu kuhusu maua ya waridi yamebadilika kidogo kadiri wakati unavyopita. Bado ni ua la kuchagua kwa wapenzi wanaotamani kuelezea shauku na bado hupatikana katika maeneo ya ibada kama ua la kujitolea kwa miungu. Maonyesho ambayo yalipaswa kufunguliwa katika Waddesdon Manor mwishoni mwa Machi 2020 (sasa yameahirishwa kwa sababu ya vizuizi vya coronavirus) ya mpiga picha wa mitindo Nick Knight - 'Roses from my Garden' - ni ukumbusho wa uzuri wa kudumu na nguvu ya rose. "Hizi prints kubwa-scale iliyopangwa katika Coach House Gallery ni luminously nzuri, kama si kidogo kitsch, na kuonekana kabisa nje ya dunia hii. """ Nikiwaona, najiuliza ikiwa itikio langu linafanana na lile la watazamaji wa Jan Brueghel, Rachel Ruysch au Jan van Huysum. Wao huvutia kwa njia isiyowezekana, isiyo ya kawaida. "Kichapo hiki cha kwanza cha Knight, ""Flora,"" kilitolewa mwaka 1997 kama jibu kwa mkusanyiko wa mimea katika Jumba la Makumbusho la Historia ya Asili." "Pamoja na picha hizi zinaonekana zaidi kama picha za kisayansi, zilizopangwa kwa rangi nyeupe kama zikiwa zimefungwa kwenye mashine ya kunakili, mwili mpya wa kazi una sifa ya urembo tofauti kabisa. """ Hakuna jambo lolote la kitiba kuhusiana nao. Ni maua ya waridi ya kimapenzi, yenye rangi nyingi katika mwangaza kamili wa machweo. Knight alichukua picha za maua ya waridi kutoka bustani yake mwenyewe (kama jina la maonyesho linavyopendekeza) kwa kutumia taa ya asili na iPhone, na kuishughulikia kupitia algorithm ya hali halisi ya virtual ambayo hujaza nafasi kati ya pikseli. Kwa mtazamo wa kwanza, zinaonekana kama kwamba zimechorwa katika utamaduni wa kihistoria, lakini kwa uchambuzi wa karibu, mtu huachwa akijiuliza ni nini halisi. Sehemu ya juu ni mpya kabisa. Bila uchoraji wa brashi au picha, mtu anaweza tu kuona anga la anga lenye maua hayo makubwa, maridadi. Wao ni wa hali ya juu sana kiufundi. Maua ya waridi huendelea kuishi. Maya Binckin, mwanzilishi wa The Art Pilgrim