"Say it with flowers"

The exhibition at galerie HELENE BAILLY is structured around a rich selection devoted to the theme of flowers in Impressionist and modern painting, with works by Alfred Sisley, Gustave Caillebotte, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Moïse Kisling, Francis Picabia, Albert Marquet, Balthus...

But a flower is never just a flower...

A true emissary of feelings, it expresses every emotion, even the most even the most singular, with delicacy.

Steeped in symbolism and immemorial meaning, the flower

gives rise to a secret language. A simple bouquet can be a token of love, friendship, gratitude..,

sympathy...

Who hasn't plucked a pretty daisy to find out if they were loved "madly"? madly" loved?

Flowers are inseparable from art history in more ways than one:

- their technical interest: for thousands of years, they have been the raw material

the raw material for pictorial creations, since pigments were often

pigments were often obtained by grinding their petals.

- as subjects: from the famous Egyptian lotus, the first representation

of a flower in art, to the unstructured bouquets of the Cubists, they have been the most charming muses of the greatest artists.

Until the 19th century, when history painting was considered the most prestigious artistic genre, landscapes and still lifes were relegated to the rank of minor genres. These distinctions gradually faded. French realist and then impressionist painters paid particular attention to everyday scenes and objects, giving them the dignity and grandeur of major genres.

The Impressionists, in particular, devoted themselves to depicting flowers, a subject that offered them infinite freedom to experiment and create. Many of them diligently tended their gardens in order to experiment with light, color and colour. to experiment with light, color and reflections in the open air. The trees represented in Sisley's Pommiers en Fleurs or Sérusier's Eve et le serpent Sérusier's Eve and the Snake evoke love and perfection, and symbolize the bond and nature.

Both humble and enchanting, flowers attract artists with their harmonious colours harmonious colors, gentle curves and unique shapes. Over the centuries centuries and artistic movements, painters and sculptors have captured the rich symbolism of flowers, tracing the changing meanings of roses roses, irises, tulips, carnations, ...

If the ivy in our Matisse drawing symbolizes attachment, Manguin's poppies characterize intoxication, Buffet's yellow tulips represent friendship and gratitude gratitude, while his orange tulips express enthusiasm and energy.

To each artist his expression, to each period its movement, to each flower its symbol... its symbol...