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3. flowers

The History of Floral
Design
Egyptian Floral Design
• Began in 2800 B.C. to
28 B.C.
• We discovered floral
design through artifacts
and wall paintings
• Used for decoration in
– Temples
– Banquet Tables
– Wreaths for guests
– Used in precessions
– Given to honor
someone
Egyptian Floral Design
• Orderly, alternating
patters
• Simplistic, repetitious,
and highly stylized
• Placed in spouted
vases with no stem
visible
• Set in regimented rows
• Around the edge of
the vase (2 inches
above the rim)
• Blossoms were flanked
by leaves or buds on
lower stems.
• No bunching or
overlapping of material.
Flowers used in Egyptian Design
-Acacia
-Roses
-Water lilies
-Violets
-Madonna lilies
-Narcissus
-Jasmine
-Poppies
-Lotus blossom
( were considered sacred)
Greek Floral Design
•
This Period Began
600B.C.–46 B.C.
•
The ancient Greeks were
so dedicated to beauty
that their art heritage
has lived through the
ages and influences
today’s art.
Herbs were frequently
used with the flowers,
and as garlands, and
wreaths.
They introduced the
Horn of Plenty or
Cornucopia.
•
•
Greek Floral Designs
• Greek designs
expressed grace
and simplicity
• Color was not
important
• the flowers,
fragrance, and
symbolism
associated with
each flower
were foremost
importance
• Often symbolic
of a god or
hero
Flowers Used in Greek Designs
Roses
Hyacinths
Honeysuckle
Violets
Lilies
Tulips
Larkspur
Marigolds
Roman Floral Design
• 28 -B.C.-325 A. D.
• The Romans continued
with the customs of the
Greeks.
• Garlands, wreaths and
crowns were more
elaborate than those of
the Greeks. Crowns and
garlands were tapered.
• Flowers were sometimes
arranged in baskets and
cornucopias.. Use as
made of the fragrance of
flowers.
Roman Floral Design
• “Dies Rosationis” - After a
person dies the family
would gather at a rose
bedecked grave and lay
more roses in
remembrance of that
person.
• “Sub Rosa” - Roman
custom of hanging a
wreath of white roses
from the ceiling, and all
things said beneath the
wreath was to be kept a
secret.
Flowers Used in Roman Design
Poppy
Roses
Amaranths
Crocus
Ivy
Narcissi
Oleanders
Myrtle
Violets
Honeysuckle
Laurel
Lily
Byzantine Floral Design
• 320-600 AD
• Continued
Roman
designs
• Elaborate
containers
had nearly
pointed
bases.
• Used
symmetrical
tree-like
compositions
Byzantine Floral Design
• Changed
construction
of garlands to
be narrow
bands of
flowers or
fruit
alternated
with foliage
• Formal conical
designs with
clusters of
blossoms at
regular
intervals
Middle Ages Floral Design
• (476-1400 AD)
• Flowers arranged
in vases
• Symmetrical
groups in Chinese
flasks show
Chinese influence.
• Little known about
floral designs of
this period
• Information found
in Persian art, rugs,
and tapestries.
Renaissance Floral Design
• Renaissance period
saw a rebirth of
many interests,
particularly in the
arts.
• The Renaissance
began in Italy but
quickly spread to
all of Europe.
• The Renaissance
style was greatly
influenced by the
Byzantine, Greek,
and Roman periods.
Renaissance Floral Design
• Stems were covered
creating a massed,
symmetrically stiff
arrangement.
• In this era, the Christmas
Wreath became popular
• Fruits, blossoms and
leaves were woven into
garlands to decorate walls
and vaulted ceilings
• Petals were piled into
baskets to strew on floors
and streets or to float
down from balconies into
rooms below.
Flowers used in Renaissance Design
Roses
Ivy
Olive Branches
Lily of the
Valley
Laurel
Dianthus
Lilies
Violets
Daisies
Primroses
Baroque and Flemish Style Period
• (1600-1775 AD)
• Classical
Renaissance
style gave way to
the lavish
Baroque style
• Symmetrical
oval shaped
designs
• Hogarthian
curve or SCurve developed
this period
Baroque and Flemish Style Period
• Styles were
evoked by the
works of
Michelangelo in
Italy, but these
were adopted by
designers in
Holland and
Belgium.
• Large containers
held flamboyant
arrangements
containing many
different kinds of
flowers.
Flowers Used in the Baroque and
Flemish Style Era
Iris
Marigold
Lily
Peony
Cannas
Hollyhock
Roses
English Georgian Period
• (1714-1760)
• The 15th and 16th Century
collective fortresses of
England gave way to smaller
houses, into which flowers
were brought, more for their
fragrance than their beauty.
• Arrangements during the
first half of this period
consisted of flowers simply
crammed into sturdy
containers, with little or no
concern for design.
• Some of the containers of
the period were made
specifically to hold flowers,
with holes or openings to
maintain the stems at
particular angles.
Floral Design in French Period
All of these design periods fall under
one Category :
• French Baroque
• French Rococo (18th Century)
• Louis XVI (Late 18th Century)
• Empire Period (1804-1814)
French Baroque
• The topiary was
introduced during this
period. Symmetrical
designs with no focal
point.
• Floral designs were
informal, fragile, and
delicate.
French Rococo (18th Century)
• Designs more
formal than those
of the Baroque
period,
predominantly arc
and crescentshaped, delicate
and airy.
Louis XVI (Late 18th Century)
• Delicate, cool
colors before the
French
revolution, and
the revival of the
Classical Period
following the
French
revolution.
Empire Period (1804-1814)
• Military symbolism
was often used in
arrangements,
using emblems and
figures associated
with the emperor.
Most of the designs
were simple and
triangular in shape.
Victorian Era 1820-1901
• The Victorian era
named for Queen
Victoria, marked a
period of floral
design, in which we
often see elaborate
and full designs.
• Upper-class
members of society
showed their wealth
with large, excessive,
opulent and often
overdone flower
arrangements.
Victorian Era
This era was the first
attempt to establish rules
for floral arranging
• Arrangements were
created weekly by
cultured ladies and their
daughters in the home.
• This was also the time
when tussie-mussie
bouquets and nosegay
bouquets made their
mark in society. Proper
women of Victorian
society carried these
bouquets at most social
gatherings.
•
Victorian Era
• Victorian style arrangements
are typically round or oval in
form. Flowers are typically kept
to a lower height,
• Strong color contrasts and
flowers with brilliant hues were
preferred
• Lots of foliage is associated with
Victorian style arrangements.
• Fruit may be added to the
arrangement also, mainly
because the flowers are cut from
the garden that are being used.
Victorian Era
Language of Flowers
• Victorians knew the language
of flowers and carefully
selected their arrangements
or single flowers according
to the message.
• they wanted to convey to the
recipient.
• A gift of a bouquet of
chrysanthemums meant love;
a red carnation meant that
feelings weren’t mutual and
lavender meant luck or
devotion
Flowers Used in the Victorian Era
Roses
Tulips
Carnations
Lilies
Daisies
Peonies
Fruit
Early American (Colonial)
Period
• (1620-1720)
• The early colonists generally produced
plants for food or for their medicinal
properties.
• What little time they had for arranging
flowers was spent making simple
arrangements to adorn their very
modest homes.
• Flowers were used more in the
Central and Southern Colonial areas.
• Most of the arrangements they made
were copied from the English Georgian
and French Empire periods.
• Arrangements were made in simple
mass forms using numerous colors.
Colonial Williamsburg Floral Design
•
(1740-1780)
• Colonial Williamsburg is
renowned for it’s colorful
arrangements in finger vase
and flower bricks.
• The English and European
roots particularly in the
Georgian and French designs
became more symmetrical
and sophisticated.
• Fan and Triangular-shaped
flower arrangements where
lightly grouped at the top,
sometimes 11/2 to three
times the height of their
containers.
Flowers Used in Colonial Williamsburg Design
Lilies
Anemones
Roses
Cockscomb
Sunflowers
Strawflower
Violets
Marigolds
Daisies
Ornamental grasses
Snapdragons
American Period Floral Design
• (1780-1820)
• The Neoclassic and Empire
styles which had been evolving
in Europe, especially the
delicate French style, had a
great influence on the styles
used in late colonial America at
this time.
• In these types of arrangements,
masses of mixed bouquets were
used less often, and the charm
of individual flowers was
emphasized. Fewer flowers
were used in containers.
American Victorian Period
• (1800-1920)
• The Victorian period in
England began to spill over to
the newly-declared United
States.
• Ornate containers of many
different kinds of materials
were filled to overflowing,
using cool colors and an
abundance of white.
• Arrangements tended to be
made in rich purples,
magentas, and dark blues.
and the Tuzzy-Muzzy was
popular, especially in the
deep ´South´.
Modern Period (Contemporary) Floral
Design
• Art nouveau 1890-1910
• Art Deco 1920’s – 1930’s
• Free Form Expression 1950’s
• Geometric Mass Design 1960’s – 1970’s
• Modern American
Modern Period (Contemporary) Floral
Design
Art Nouveau
• Based on
curvilinear lines
and often
patterned after
nature in the
shape of
plants/flowers
• Containers were
carving and
asymmetrical
Modern Period (Contemporary) Floral
Design
Art Deco
• Influenced by ancient
Egyptian, Jazz age, and
the industrial age.
• Characterized by strong
geometric lines and
patterns
• The style reemerged in
the 1960’s
• Corsages became
popular in this time
period.
Modern Period (Contemporary) Floral
Design
Free Form
Expression
• Arrangements
became more
expressive with
feeling or movement
and freedom
• Textural differences
between design
materials were
emphasized
Modern Period (Contemporary) Floral
Design
Geometric Mass Design
• Tight, geometric
bouquets were
common
• Arrangements
combined mass and
line into stiff patterns
• Compote containers
were commonly used.
Chinese and Japanese Floral
History
Chinese Influences
•
•
•
The Chinese were making flower
arrangements as far back as 207 BCE
to 220 CE, in the Han era of ancient
China. Flowers were an integral
component of religious teaching and
medicine.
Practitioners of Buddhism, Taoism,
and Confucianism placed cut flowers
on their altars. This practice dates
back to 618-906 CE.
Buddhist teachings forbade the
taking of a life, so religious
practitioners worked sparingly when
taking cuttings from plants. Flowers
and leaves that were used to make
basket arrangements were selected
based on their symbolic meaning.
Japanese Influence
•
•
The truth about the origin of Ikebana is
unidentified. But when the Buddhism reached
Japan in the 7th century, it is thought to have
come to Japan as part of Buddhist practice. The
offering of flowers on the altar in honor of Buddha
was part of worship. Ikebana evolved from the
Buddhist ritual of offering flowers to the spirits of
the dead[1]. The first classical styles of Ikebana
started in the middle of the fifteenth century; the
first students and teachers of Ikebana were
Buddhist priests and members. As time passed,
other schools emerged, styles changed, and
Ikebana became a custom among the Japanese
society.
Another aspect present in ikebana is its
employment of minimalism. That is, an
arrangement may consist of only a minimal
number of blooms interspersed among stalks and
leaves. The structure of a Japanese flower
arrangement is based on a scalene triangle
delineated by three main points, usually twigs,
considered in some schools to symbolize heaven,
earth, and man and in others sun, moon, and
earth. The container is a key element of the
composition, and various styles of pottery may be
used in their construction.