A Masterpiece
Earlier this month, visitors to the National Gallery in London were treated to a real (and fresh) floral masterpiece.
As part of the Gallery’s Dutch Flowers Exhibition that is taking place this summer, a 376 sq. ft. “painting” was created using more than 26,000 cut flowers.
It was commissioned by Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk — an initiative of the Flower Council of Holland that “lets consumers experience [how] flowers bring complete happiness.”
The floral “painting” is a much larger representation of “A Still Life of Flower in a Wan-Li Vase” that was painted by the Dutch artist Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder in 1609 and 1610. Bosschaert’s original painting was only 20×27 inches — the floral rendition is the size of two of London’s double-decker buses stacked on top of each other.
Bosschaert’s original oil on copper painting is a very realistic-looking portrait of lilies, tulips, roses and carnations. The recreation of those varieties at the National Gallery is made up of 26 different flower varieties including include six tulip varieties, six varieties of calla lily, five different rose varieties of roses, four varieties of peonies as well as carnations and freesias. More than 37 different colors were used to create the depth and shading of the original painting.
The 4,000-lb. painting also has its own built-in irrigation system that kept the flowers looking fresh during its five-day exhibition. And just to make things even more interesting, the flowers were replenished twice during those five days.
It took Bosschaert nearly two years to complete his painting but a team of 30 florists working non-stop was able to create their masterpiece in just two days.
Click here to check out a video of the floral artists “painting” their amazing work of art.
Have you created any masterpieces with plants this season? They may not be as ambitious as the one at the National Gallery, but if you have, I’d love to hear about them.
Drop me a line at thodson@greatamericanpublish.com and let me know what you have created?