From the sunflower in Van Dyck's self-portrait to roses scattered around Botticelli's Venus to columbines in the borders of fifteenth-century manuscripts, flowers grace many Renaissance artworks. Their symbolic meanings, however, may be lost on the modern viewer. This is the first book to untangle the richly layered botanical messages in many of the world's great masterpieces. --Many favorite flowers, such as roses, irises, and lilies had long been endowed with a wealth of symbolic meanings. Renaissance artists, by embracing new methods of scientific observation, were able to portray them for the first time with an accuracy that made each species easily identifiable. --Artists made conscious choices about the flowers they included in their work, for flowers and plants were still usually not the subject of a painting, but elements of a larger religious story. Influenced by the revival of classical ideals, artists frequently married religious symbolism with that from contemporary romances or classical mythology. For example, the hortus conclusus or closed garden, traditionally a reference to the Virgin Mary, also became a symbol for the popular Romance of the Rose.

Venus, in her purest aspect the goddess of love, was aligned with the Virgin Mary and, like her, often surrounded by roses or daisies. Garden pinks and carnations, meanwhile, did not figure in earlier traditions; during the Renaissance they became part of the folklore of romance, and when held in a sitter's hands, they generally signified a marriage. --Focusing on twenty popular flowers, including roses, lilies, irises, tulips, daisies, and poppies, the author discusses the history of cultivation of each variety before examining its symbolic meanings. This delightful and beautifully illustrated book uncovers hidden treasures in the grass at a saint's feet, on the sleeve of an Elizabethan lady, and inside the lid of a Florentine wedding chest, allowing the reader to appreciate another facet of many of the Renaissance's great artworks. --Book Jacket.