Arzneipflanzen im Spiegel Niederländischer Malerei

Abstract

Medicinal plants and their compounds (such as essential oils) have been presented in the fine arts of many periods of civilization. They have been from former times up to now not only subjects of lyric poetry and prose, but also of pictorial art. In paintings medicinal plants — just as many other plants — were not used only because of their decorative characters, but also for their symbolical significance. This symbolism can be demonstrated by many examples. It is especially true as far as the symbolical character of certain medicinal plants within Dutch painting is concerned.

May I, as an amateur in the history of art, be allowed to extend the conception of Dutch painting in a certain European sense, for it was the Dutch painters who — in spite of typical Dutch subject and details in their paintings — have never been restricted to the region of the historical Netherlands.

The red thread of this lecture will be similar to a meander. I will take your ears and eyes and lead you through my artificial garden with blooming plants and ripe fruits. During this walk you will meet for example Jan Breughel’s famous picture ‘Flower bunch in a wooden pot’, to-day in the Alte Pinakothek of Munich. There is Frittiiaria imperialis in the center of the bouquet, surrounded by Lilium candidum, Lilium martagon, Iris species, and Lilium hulbiferum and roses, all old symbols, already mentioned in the middle-ages and referring to the virginity and innocence of St. Mary. I will take you to the Portinari altar-piece, painted by Hugo van der Goes in Florence, With Iris, Di an thus, Aquilegia and Lilium hulbiferum in front of the crib. I will try to explain the symbolism of the pomegranate used already in art by Old Egyptians, but also by Abraham Breughel in 1669 or by the modern artist E. schlotter in his picture ‘Nocturno’, which dates from 1977. This fruit full of seeds, with its sweet and sour taste symbolizes not only life, fertility and productivity, eros and voluptuousness, but also charity and the wisdom of old age. With these and other examples I will demonstrate to you both the beauty of Dutch painting and the plant symbolism implied, which had such a long history from ancient periods until to-day.

Meiner Mutter in Dankbarkeit gewidmet