Once again it’s time for the Art in Bloom event at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. This is an opportunity for floral designers to interpret an Institute display using freshly cut flowers and greens. I participated to keep some currency working with fresh blooms. I did not get the impressionist seascape I hoped for, but was assigned, instead, the portrait of Clementine Karr by Henri Lehmann, a French painter I am not familiar with. The painting is in a relatively small oval frame. The subject is an upper class woman painted in 1845. Her face betrays no emotion but is characterized by large eyes with a penetrating gaze. It is my understanding that Lehmann wanted to portray strong, independent women and not the rosy-cheeked females with tiny lap dogs and who gaze lovingly at their lord and protector. The overall tone of the picture is dark; the background is unlit and Clementine wears a dark violet gown and has very dark hair. However, the paleness of her face and neck contrast vividly with these dark tones and a glimpse of shawl visible on her right is brilliant gold.
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| Here is the resolute Ms Karr: a formidable looking dame, indeed. |
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| This is my floral interpretation. While there is a correspondence between the tonal elements of the two compositions, the beauty of the flowers cannot capture the severity of her gaze. |
My approach was based on these contrasting palettes. I also wanted to maintain the oval contour of her frame. To this end, I had a vase made especially for this project. It repeats the curvature of the frame’s base and allows an arch of willow branches to complete the oval form. The willow branches, in turn, support an array of eggplant colored calla lilies that reflect the dark, sleek style of Clementine’s coif. Her pale skin, chic for its time, is represented by a grouping of star of Bethlehem and hydrangea blossoms. Dendrobium orchids provide the dark tones of her dress and gold cymbidium orchids provide the flash of color in her shawl. While the arrangement is not a literal reproduction of the portrait, and could stand alone in its own right, I did want to achieve a spatial color correlation between Lehmann’s work and my own. The Art Institute has posted on line a previous floral interpretation of this piece that was much more abstract in form but adhered to the same color palette. Interestingly enough, that work also incorporated calla lilies. Callas and Clementine seem to go together.
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| Another angle on our subjects. This painting was not my first choice, but now I am grateful for the opportunity to come to know Clementine. |
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| This is the vase designed by Karen to help mirror the eliptical shape of the frame. |
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| This composition cannot be called austere in concept. Its beauty lies in achieving balance in the convoluted structure. |
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| The Ikebana compositions in the Asian galleries reveal much beauty with economies of line. |
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| This study in green resolves a coil of leaves into a single, clean over-arching line that seems an umbrella for the counter balancing daisies. |
