Flora
Beautifully depicted in this 1894 painting by Evelyn De Morgan is Flora, goddess of spring. But there is a lot more to this deity than birds and flowers, including her own festival
Flora (1894) by Evelyn De Morgan
"This is probably Evelyn De Morgan's most accomplished painting," says Sarah Hardy, Director of the De Morgan Museum. " Every blade of glass and strand of hair has been considered and carefully painted by Evelyn De Morgan to give a beautiful realism to the life-size painting."
Evelyn De Morgan was especially committed to perfecting the realism of her figures and made many studies of her model Jane Hales in order to complete the picture and make Flora believable.
Flora (1894) by Evelyn De MorganDe Morgan Collection
Flora is depicted in front of a Nescola or Loquat tree which bears fruit in the spring.
Such realism allows for De Morgan's fruit and flowers to be easily recognised and the symbolism of them conveys the meaning of the painting.
Flora (1894) by Evelyn De MorganDe Morgan Collection
Yellow primroses, blue forget-me-nots and pink cyclamen can be found in the beautiful meadow Flora stands in, symbolising the renewal and rebirth brought by spring.
The Goddess Flora
These spring-time symbols all point towards the subject of the painting being Flora, the Roman goddess of spring. Titus Tatius (according to tradition, the Sabine king who ruled with Romulus) is said to have introduced her cult to Rome; her temple stood near the Circus Maximus
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The Floralia was celebrated between 28 April and 3 May in ancient Rome and no doubt this temple would have been the centre of activity. Games were played, performances were staged, and animal sacrifices were made to honour the important female deity. Those attending the festivities wore multi-coloured garments as they danced, ate and drank during their way through the six-day long celebration.
Poussin's depiction of the goddess surrounded by scantily clad attendants and dancing Putti perhaps give a glimpse of the fun, frolics and festivities which occurred during the Floralia.
Inspiration
Like many Victorian artists, Evelyn De Morgan was intrigued and inspired by Italian Renaissance art. So called because the work represented a rebirth of painting in the 1500s, Renaissance art was celebrated for rich colours and attention to detail.
It was the work of Renaissance artist Sandra Botticelli which particularly appealed to Evelyn De Morgan and her Flora was clearly influenced by Botticelli's The Birth of Venus and Primavera. In fact, De Morgan travelled to Florence from her home in London to copy directly from Botticelli's masterpieces in order to prepare her own. Her watercolour copy of The Birth of Venus shows a figure rushing to the goddess Venus with a robe. The red drapery and gold dress this rushing figure wears are very similar to the outfit worn by Flora.
Evelyn De Morgan lived in Florence during the winter from 1890 to 1914 and Flora really celebrates the city she loved as well as the Renaissance painting she admired.
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