A Bouquet of Our Own

Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase
Maria van Oosterwyck (Dutch)
about 1670s

Students will closely examine Oosterwyck’s painting Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase and talk about what they think the flowers would feel like. They will then have the opportunity to touch real flowers, and compare the textures of the real flowers to their observations of those in the painting.

Intended Age Group
Early childhood (ages 3-5)
Standards Area
Visual Arts
Lesson Length
One 25 minute lesson
Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • point out at least three different flowers in the painting;
  • find at least two different insects;
  • express how they think different objects in the painting would feel and compare these ideas to how it feels when they touch real flowers.

Lesson

  1. Warm-up: Have the children look closely at the painting and find all of the bugs. Then, using the dodecahedron, have volunteers pick a side of the dodecahedron one at a time and find everything in the painting that fits the word.
  2. Have the children talk about the flowers. What do they notice about them? The leaves? Do they look real? How would the different flowers and leaves feel if you touched them?
  3. Bring out some of the flowers for them to feel. Encourage them to touch the petals and leaves with their hands, as well as to feel them with their faces and on their arms. Have students compare what they feel to how they thought the flowers and leaves in the painting would feel.
  4. In groups of 3, have the children look closely at the flowers with a magnifying glass. Have them describe what they see up close, encouraging them to compare their observations to those they made while looking the painting.

Materials

  • Dodecahedron with the following words written on it: yellow, pink, red, green, gray, white, black, soft, scratchy, bumpy, rough, and smooth
  • An assortment of flowers similar to those in the painting (enough to touch and experience)
  • Water for the flowers as needed
  • One magnifying glass for every 3 students
  • About the Art section on Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase
  • One color copy of the painting for every four students, or the ability to project the image onto a wall or screen

Standards

CO Standards
  • Visual Arts
    • Observe and Learn to Comprehend
    • Relate and Connect to Transfer
  • Language Arts
    • Oral Expression and Listening
21st Century Skills
  • Collaboration
  • Critical Thinking & Reasoning
  • Information Literacy
  • Self-Direction

Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase

about 1670s
Artist
Maria van Oosterwyck, Dutch, 1630-1693
About the Artist

Maria van Oosterwyck was born in Holland in 1630, the daughter of a well-to-do Protestant clergyman and his wife. She never married, though she was courted by another flower painter, Willem van Aelst. According to one source, van Aelst eventually gave up because she was so devoted to her career. Female artists were rare in the 1600s, but that didn’t keep Oosterwyck from success. Her paintings were bought by royalty, including King Louis XIV of France and King William III of England, and almost always fetched high prices.

Oosterwyck’s still-life studies included a range of objects such as glassware, coins, musical instruments, and flowers. She created complex images with lots of details, and was skilled at portraying light and reflections. She was particularly well-known for her flower paintings, and was able to capture the detail of individual flowers and foliage by sketching straight from the source. The bouquet in this painting would have been impossible to construct in real life because the flowers bloom in different seasons. Tulips, for example, bloom in the spring, while sunflowers bloom in the summer. Oosterwyck would have assembled this image of a fantasy bouquet from individual sketches she made in outdoor gardens.

What Inspired It

During Oosterwyck’s time, the Dutch were crazy about flowers. Flowers were rare in Holland, and very expensive. Flower bulbs and seeds had to be imported from the East, and only the wealthy could afford flower gardens. As a result, flowers, especially tulips, became symbols of status.

Since only the wealthy could actually afford to buy flowers, flower paintings were a relatively “cheap” alternative and served a number of purposes. Flower paintings lasted longer than real blooms, and people enjoyed them as a reminder of spring during the cold Dutch winters. They also served as a demonstration of God’s bounty. Variety was especially valued in flower paintings—it was believed that only variety could make an image beautiful and delightful. Variety is achieved here through the portrayal of many different types of blossoms, the inclusion of foliage, the positioning of the flowers, and the inclusion of plants in different stages of growth and decay.

Details

Tulip & Sunflower

The devoutly religious Oosterwyck may have hidden a deeper meaning in our painting. In Oosterwyck’s time, flowers that turned their faces toward the sun were compared to faithful souls who followed God. Notice how the tulip bends around to face the sunflower. Huge sunflowers, with their rays of bright yellow petals, sometimes represented the sun. Some scholars have suggested that Oosterwyck was painting a faithful soul looking to God.

Decay

In the top right corner of the painting we see a leaf that has been eaten by insects. A white rose in the center of the bouquet is nearing the end of its life. Notice the small nick in the stone ledge upon which the bouquet sits. All of these things are signs of decay, and serve as reminders that all worldly things will die.

Reflection

Look closely at the vase and you will notice the reflection of a window.

Detailed Leaves

In each leaf we see individual veins, crisp edges, and the irregular coloration found in nature. During the 1600s, there was a keen interest in botany. Artists were often commissioned to illustrate botanical books and catalogues for flower sellers. Many of the people who bought flower paintings were wealthy gardeners who knew the anatomy of flowers well and wanted to see the botanical details.

Cracks

Covering the surface of the painting is a tiny network of cracks called craquelure. As paintings age, the paint or varnish will expand and contract with changes in temperature and humidity, and tiny cracks will begin to develop. Craquelure is seldom disfiguring and is simply regarded as a characteristic feature of older paintings.

Bugs

Look for butterflies, an earwig, a honeybee, and a beetle. The insects in this image are another indication of the 17th century fascination with the natural world.

Application of Paint

Oosterwyck applied the paint thinly, creating a smooth canvas. There are no ridges, lumps, or trails of paint to indicate Oosterwyck’s process. Notice how the red and white colors of the carnation do not merely exist side by side, but flow into one another gradually.

Funding for object education resources provided by a grant from the Morgridge Family Foundation. Additional funding provided by the William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Education Programs, and Xcel Energy Foundation. We thank our colleagues at the University of Denver Morgridge College of Education.

The images on this page are intended for classroom use only and may not be reproduced for other reasons without the permission of the Denver Art Museum. This object may not currently be on display at the museum.