Work of Art

Lotus Flowers: A Landscape Painting in the Background

Created

circa 1885–1900

Artist

Nationality

American

Birth/Death

1819-1904

Dimensions

16 7/8 × 36 inches (42.9 × 91.4 centimeters)

Medium

Oil on canvas, Painting

Credit

Gift of the Sarah Graham Kenan Foundation in honor of Mrs. Sarah Graham Kenan

Object Number

G.75.25.1

Culture

Classification

Paintings

Department

American to 1910

Key Ideas

This still life painting is a picture within a picture. It depicts a group of freshly cut flowers placed in front of a landscape painting.
Martin Johnson Heade was an American artist who painted scenes of the coast as well as detailed pictures of flowers and birds. He used strong light and dark areas to make the subjects of his paintings stand out.
Heade was not well known when he was alive. Many years later, in the 1940s, people became interested again in American art from the 1800s. At that time his work was rediscovered, and he was finally recognized as one of the most influential artists of his time.

Learn More

American artist Martin Johnson Heade is best known for painting coastal scenes, hummingbirds, and flowers. His paintings often show a strong contrast between light and dark. In Lotus Flowers: A Landscape Painting in the Background, Heade painted bright flowers in the front and depicted a landscape painting behind them. The flowers are well lit, while the background is dark and shadowy.

Heade was connected to the Hudson River School and was an important artist in a 19th-century American art style called Luminism. Luminism focuses on glowing light, wide horizontal views, and a calm, peaceful mood. These paintings often look smooth, with brushstrokes that are hard to see. Unlike many Hudson River School artists who painted dramatic mountain scenes, Heade painted quiet coastal scenes and detailed still lifes.

During his lifetime Heade was not very famous. His art was rediscovered in the 1940s, when people became more interested in 19th-century American art again. Many years after his death, Heade was recognized as one of the most creative and important artists of his time. Today his paintings are highly valued and can sell for millions of dollars.

tags: flowers, nature, cycle, environment, observation

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