martedì 5 gennaio 2016

Symbolism of flowers and death

In this "danse macabre" of the 15th century, what catches my eyes are the flowers in the ground.


In particular, it is interesting that they are the same represented in the basal part of the Deposition Borghese by Raphael: a plantain and a forget-me-not are clearly recognizable. There is also a species with pyramidal flowers which I cannot identify.

The Borghese Deposition is a painting of mourning, so both species are related to death: the forget-me-not to the remembrance od the death, and the plantain represent the "well trodden path" of the christian. It is interesting that the forget-me-not is represented with four petal, like the cross, and therefore in 15th century forget-me-not was not a Myosotis but a Crucifer. In the Borghese Deposition it seems to be Cardamine bulbifera (the flowers are easily identifiable, but the leaves do not correspond well). Probably after tjhe 15th century the name passed from Cardamine to Myosotis.


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