Thursday 8 August 2024

Flowers and Art

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking at paintings

Lily of the Valley, St Bees, 1940s - Winifred Nicholson (1893-1981)

and my theme is flowers.  One of Winifred Nicholson's favourite themes was flowers in pots. Here she is in St Bees on the coast of Cumberland where on a clear day the Isle of Man can be seen across the Irish Sea.  Nicholson travelled extensively (although lived most of her life in Cumberland) so I wonder if this was a pot from her sojourn in Greece.  In the language of flowers Lilly of the Valley represent the return of happiness.  Nicholson's flowers in this painting look to be on a table outside but
Le Tombeau des Lutteurs, 1960 - René Magritte

René Magritte is on the other side of the window with 'The Tomb of the Wrestlers'.  This is a card I picked up at a Tate exhibition which was called 'René Magritte: The Pleasure Principle' and they always do postcard sized booklets that comes with your ticket. (Handy for tucking into ones album when returning home).  On the front page it quotes Magritte - "Art evokes the mystery without which the world would not exist"
In the Rector's Garden, Queen of the Lilies, 1877 - John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893)
Grimshaw is best known for his moonlit scenes and what probably does not show up on this scan is the slight tinge of red behind the trees, sunset
The Gardener - Jenny Montigny (1875-1937)
Flowers require a gardener, this painting also has the name "The Begonias",  an abundant flower as happy in sunlight as in shade.

5 comments:

Mail Adventures said...

Very beautiful paintings on today's postcards! The last one would be my favourite. People sometimes forget that those wonderful flowers have been grown by dedicated gardeners.
Oh, and thanks for the moonlit link, too.

marina said...

Lily of the valley....beautiful painting. The gardener card is also very nice.

violet s said...

Lily of the valley is probably my favourite scent, so I was taking in a deep breath as I looked at the first one. The moon and early sunrise (or sunset) provide such an evocative light, and as someone who enjoys working outdoors at night, I often prefer it to the harsh light of day. The garden in Grimshaws painting is beautiful.

Lisa said...

The Magritte is amazing!

Four-eyed-missy said...

Joy, I love your beautiful floral postcard collection! The hint of red in the sky on The Gardener postcard sounds absolutely enchanting.

A Slice of Filipino Life on Canvas