Narcissus and Other Flowers

c. 1840

Watercolor with graphite underdrawing on parchment

27.3 × 21.6 cm (10.7 × 8.5 in)

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In the collection of Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia — check current display status with the museum.

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Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

An unknown artist has gathered an array of spring flowers into a bouquet: light purple hyacinth, blue poppy anemone, violet primrose, and yellow-and-white narcissus (two "double daffodils" and two classic ones). This type of composition had been favored by the celebrated botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840), to explore the decorative potential of botanical subjects. Images like Narcissus and Other Flowers , in turn, informed depictions of flowers in modern art: for example, Paul Rohland's Zinnias (c. 1920) and Henri Matisse's Figure with Bouquet (1939), also in Room 17.

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