Your top 10 favourite floral paintings

We all have our definitions of what art is. For some, it’s Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’ or Damien Hirst’s ‘Mother and Child (Divided)’. For others it might be Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’. But whatever your preference, I think most of us can agree that a plant geek’s favourite art has to include floral paintings of some sort (or drawings, or sculptures, or prints, etc.).

Floral art is recorded as far back as 1500 BC, with the oldest known depictions of flowers found in beautiful Santorini. Researchers are unsure of what the flowers are, as obviously plants have evolved over the last century and a half.

Since then, many artists have used flowers and plants in still life paintings, portraits, landscapes, and even tattoos. If you’ve seen my collection of body art, you’ll know that I’m a big fan.

It’s wonderful to see the inspiration that plants have provided over the centuries, and are still providing today.

Last month, I asked you what your favourite floral paintings were. I didn’t think I’d get such a huge response, but some of you are obviously big art fans!

Here are my top 10 floral paintings from your suggestions:

1. Almond Blossom by Vincent van Gogh (thanks to @ShelleyP1971)

My favourite painting….. Almond Blossom painted 1890 Van Gogh pic.twitter.com/IdBKgd8xHG

— Shelley 🌿🌺 (@ShelleyP1971) July 19, 2018

2. Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!) by Henri Rousseau (thanks to Bennet Smith)

3. Irises by Ogata Kōrin (thanks to @londnplantology)

Ogata Korin’s “Irises"🎋 pic.twitter.com/auz1zUFdRH

— Sasha Ivanova🇯🇵🇬🇧🇷🇺 (@AikigirlTokyo) July 19, 2018

4. Dutch still life paintings (thanks to @andrewsylvesr)

The symbolism of Dutch Still life paintings pic.twitter.com/N5ILNKj5Gc

— Andy’s addiction (@AndrewSylvesr) July 20, 2018

5. Ophelia by John Everett Millais (thanks to @a_real_gent)

Millais' Ophelia includes many symbolic plants: willow for forsaken love; poppies for remembrance, sleep and death; daisies (innocence); nettles for pain; pansies (pensée – thought); faithful violets and forget-me-nots… pic.twitter.com/Kjf8VmmoJT

— nonsmokinstu (@a_real_gent) July 19, 2018

6. De tuin by Jacobus van Looy (thanks to @frank69huibers)

pic.twitter.com/fNaxpKUBCh

— Frank Huibers (@frank69huibers) July 19, 2018

7. Peony Gardenia by Mia Tarney (thanks to @skog200)

Mia Tarney ..she paints mostly peony's and tulips pic.twitter.com/0scif3fQ5f

— Skog (@Skog200) July 19, 2018

8. Oriental Poppies by Georgia O’Keeffe (thanks to @msedollyp)

Oriental Poppies by Georgia O’Keeffe pic.twitter.com/zSkEz3RvyB

— Linette Ridgeway (@MSEDollyp) July 20, 2018

9. Summer Time by Diana Watson (thanks to @lisamjthomas)

Love everything by Australian artist Diana Watson pic.twitter.com/3KpA07xSS2

— Lisa Thomas (@lisamjthomas) July 20, 2018

10. Great Piece of Turf by Albrecht Dürer (thanks to @loonicat)

Durer – The Large Piece of Grass or the Great Piece of Turf depending on your translation. I just love the detail and today, we need more turf like this. pic.twitter.com/UBMF37LolM

— Jennifer Christie (@LooniCat) July 19, 2018

What’s your favourite floral painting? Let me know in the comment section below, or tweet me @mrplantgeek!