Beautiful Blossoms

Feminist Art

"Dinner Party" by Judy Chicago

In the early 1970s, Chicago began planning an ambitious piece, The Dinner Party,  using craft techiniques (such as china painting and needlework) traditionally practiced by women, to celebrate the achievenments and contributions women had made throughout history.

The triangular form refers to the ancient symbol for both woman and the Goddess. The notion of a dinner party also alludes to women's traditional role as homemakers.

Pre-Raphaelite

Rossetti deliberately used a limited colour range for this oil painting. The predominance of white, symbolic of virginity, is complemented by vibrant blue (a colour associated with Mary, though notably not used in his The Girlhood of Mary Virgin in 1849 and shown below) and red, for Christ's blood. Lilies are traditionally the symbol of Mary in Italian Renaissance art, but they are also considered funereal flowers, indicative of Christ's death.

 

Emil Nolde

Emil Nolde is an important representative of Expressionism. In his landscapes, as in his flower paintings, he combines color more radically than almost anyone else.