“Flowers are much more than simple decorative elements,” explains Natalia de Marco, artistic director of the Chiostro del Bramante. “They are universal symbols that represent every aspect of life: from resilience to spirituality, from love to conflict, from science to ecology.” This sensory journey comes to life in an exhibition that combines works from the past and present, offering the public a new interpretation of the role that flowers have played, and continue to play, in the evolution of our history and society.
The featured works range from the 16th to the 21st century. Paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, tapestries, photographs, site-specific installations, augmented reality and artificial intelligence works intertwine to recount the encounter between art and nature. Among the masters featured are Jan Brueghel the Elder and his narrative of flowers as silent protagonists of a vast symbolic universe, between the sacred and the profane; Girolamo Pini and his extraordinary attention to botanical detail; Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris and their delicate floral representations, which evoke a sense of ethereal beauty typical of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.