Flower Symbol in Christian Art
A violet represents properties beyond its obvious meaning.
Jan 6, 2007
During the Early Renaissance most art depicted religious themes. Flowers are included in Medieval and Renaissance paintings not only because they are pretty and decorative but because they are imbued with a symbolic language that underscores the Christian meaning of the depicted event. The flowers used in the paintings were generally-understood symbols or attributes of the saint, holy figure, or event depicted in the painting. The meanings may be lost to the average art viewer today, but gaining an understanding of the symbolism will enhance appreciation of the paintings.
In Christian art, what does the violet symbolize?
Because of the modest or humble manner in which it grows close to the ground and its blooms peek out from under its leaves, the violet symbolizes humility, even timidity. The Ancients' name for violets was “Iona”; they believed that Zeus, the king of the gods, originated violets in the meadows where Io used to wander. Zeus had fallen in love with the lovely nymph, Io, and changed her into a white heifer to protect her from his wife’s wrath. Zeus gave Io pastures in which to graze. The Athenians revered the violet, decorated their houses with it, and wore crowns of violets at their feasts and on festive occasions.
To the ancient Romans, violets were the symbol of mourning and of affection for the dead. They decorated tombs with wreaths of violets on the Festival of the Dead, or “Feralia,” in February and at the "Violaria," or the Festival of Violets, at the end of March. These ceremonies guaranteed the peace of the deceased. In the Middle Ages, violets were the symbol of faithfulness in love. The tiny purple and white flowers were made into crowns for winners of poetry contests during this era of courtly love.
Later, in the 17th century, Paris street vendors sold bunches of violets that they picked in the forests outside the city. In the 1750s horticulturists had the idea of cultivating violets closer to Paris. Then in the 19th century violets were very popular in private gardens and new varieties were introduced.
In Christian art, the violet symbolizes the Virgin Mary’s humility. One ancient tale states that violets were in fact white until Mary was filled with anguish from watching her son, Christ, suffer upon the Cross. At this moment all the white violets turned purple to echo her mourning. Perhaps this is a reason why purple remains a color associated with mourning. In Renaissance paintings, Mary, while holding the baby Jesus, is often depicted with violets to symbolize her humility or perhaps as a premonition of Jesus’ death, as in this early painting “Madonna Benois," or "Madonna and Child with Flowers” (c. 1475-1478) by Leonardo da Vinci. And the viewer can make out tiny violets in the foreground of this painting by Sienese artist Giovanni Paolo aptly named “Madonna of Humility” (1435).
Source: Dumas, Anne. Book of Plants and Symbols. London: Hachette, 2000.
