Snowdrops in art

[Maggi Young]

St Dorothy, or perhaps Rapunzel, with all  that wonderful hair 

You would think it should be snowdrops, wouldn't you - and we must make allowances for artistic licence -  but I "see" anemones ( Anemones nemorosa / Windflowers)) in the lobed  foliage ) .......

[Gail]

I "see" anemones ( Anemones nemorosa / Windflowers)) in the lobed  foliage ) .......

I know what you mean. Another painting I have trouble seeing the snowdrop in is Millais's Mariana - the white flower in the stained glass window is said on the Tate website to be a snowdrop but looks more lily-like to me with that leaf on the stem.

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-mariana-t07553/text-summary

[Maggi Young]

I know what you mean. Another painting I have trouble seeing the snowdrop in is Millais's Mariana - the white flower in the stained glass window is said on the Tate website to be a snowdrop but looks more lily-like to me with that leaf on the stem.

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-mariana-t07553/text-summary

Particularly since the other stained glass in the painting depicts the Annunciation- so one would assume the Madonna Lily , as you say. 
One could, of course,  argue that it is a snowdrop with the spathe dropped down the stem to allow the flower to be more neatly centered in the lozenge!!

[Alan_b]

but I "see" anemones ( Anemones nemorosa / Windflowers)) in the lobed  foliage ) .......

All the flowers are on one side of the basket and the leaves are on the other with nothing much to indicate they are attached.  So I wonder if the basket holds two different plants, each with their own symbolism?

[Maggi Young]

All the flowers are on one side of the basket and the leaves are on the other with nothing much to indicate they are attached.  So I wonder if the basket holds two different plants, each with their own symbolism?

Ah, yes, another distinct possibility.
I wish I  knew more about  the significane and symbolism of flowers. I've tried to find a useful book but most seem to mention  mostly roses and tulips!

[Brian Ellis]

The National Gallery says

According to legend she was condemned to death because of her faith during the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. She converted two women who had attempted to change her faith. On her way to execution she was mocked by a lawyer who asked her to send him flowers and fruit from heaven; a child miraculously appeared with a basket filled with both. The basket of fruit and flowers became her attribute

Other sites specify roses and apples so I think the interpretation is the artists own based on what material was to hand, the point being that at a time of the year when there were no flowers and fruit she was sent them from heaven.

[Rick Goodenough]

An interesting discussion, and wide ranging use of snowdrops in art.  Here is a 1935 House Beautiful magazine cover of a high art deco rendition of snowdrops...I like it and will try to find out more about the piece. This was posted this evening by a reader, Anner M. Whitehead, on the Facebook group page, Snowdrops in American Gardens. 

Can anyone definitely ID the drops?

[Gail]

I was up in Aberdeen for the weekend last month to visit my son who has just started at the university there. We went to have a look at the art gallery there and found another example of a snowdrop in art;
Les Femmes de la Révolution is an installation  produced in 2003 by the Scottish poet, artist and gardener Ian Hamilton Finlay.  It consists of a beautiful cherrywood table laid out for a dinner party, with each plate painted with a wild flower and the name of a woman who played a part in the French Revolution. The opposing sides, Republicans and Monarchists, are imagined dining together so Queen Marie-Antoinette sits opposite Marat’s assassin Charlotte Corday. The plate for Jean Manon Roland is painted with a single snowdrop.

[Maggi Young]

Thanks for sharing that Gail - pretty  isn't it?   I have to confess to not having visited the late Ian Hamilton-Finlay's garden Little Sparta - shame on me.

In the first picture, the large  painting  to the back/ right of the table is by our dear friend Joyce W. Cairns RSA RSW MA(RCA). Small world, isn't it?   

[Gail]

Harvey's snowdrop sale today was excellent and not as manic as Myddleton.

Christine Mole has had her nails painted again this year. (First image clutching a pot of Sutton Courtney, courtesy of Sue and Wol Staines)

[Brian Ellis]

I think the background needs to be something between last years black and this years light blue!  You wait 'til I see her

[Matt T]

Someone has time on their hands! Run a comb through my beard and that's me ready! Shows a dedication to the 'drops though.

[Alan_b]

A comb, what's that? 

Not that I'm considering it for myself, but how long does 'nail art' last for?
 

[johnw]

Great to see Christine again.  Ken & I travelled with her from Cerney to Covertside and on to Colesbourne a few years back.  Lovely lady.

Now I have to wonder if the toes got the Poculiforms? No way I'd make the reach for intricate marks. Take heed Alan.

Mercifully none of us have descended to a smattering of snowdrop tattoos...

[emma T]

Great to see Christine again.  Ken & I travelled with her from Cerney to Covertside and on to Colesbourne a few years back.  Lovely lady.

Now I have to wonder if the toes got the Poculiforms? No way I'd make the reach for intricate marks. Take heed Alan.

Mercifully none of us have descended to a smattering of snowdrop tattoos...

   ^    Well not that we know of anyway !