Birthday
HydrangeasFlowers and the human face are one of the oldest pairings in art. For centuries painters have worked flowers into portraits, and sometimes built the face itself out of them. Here is how the idea evolved, from a 16th-century court painter to today’s photographers, and how to make a flower portrait yourself.
Flowers for creative projects and photo shoots: peony-style roses and flowers in a box.
Arcimboldo’s heads
The Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo (c. 1526–1593) served the Habsburg court in Vienna and Prague and became famous for his composite heads. In his Four Seasons series, “Spring” is a profile made entirely of flowers, and in the celebrated “Vertumnus” Emperor Rudolf II appears as the god of gardens, built from fruit, vegetables and flowers. The paintings were at once a game, a puzzle and a display of the court’s botanical riches.
Four approaches
Contemporary artists and photographers
Today the flower portrait lives on in painting, photography and illustration. Some artists paint figures that flowers seem to grow through, others photograph faces half hidden by blooms, and others draw hairstyles made of flowers. The images in this article are works by contemporary artists in this genre.
A separate strand is the “face floral”: collages in which eyes, lips and hair are laid out with petals, leaves and twigs. The genre took off on social media in the 2010s, with the American artist and designer Justina Blakeney playing a notable part.
How to make your own
- A face of petals. Take a sheet of thick paper, pencil the outline of a face and lay out the features with flowers: rose petals for lips, daisy centres for eyes, twigs for hair. Photograph from above in daylight.
- A pressed version. Flowers dried in a press can be glued down so the portrait lasts.
- A photo portrait with flowers. Soft window light, one or two large blooms near the face and a plain background work better than a lavish arrangement.
For working with dried flowers, see oshibana: pressed flower art and how to make a herbarium.
Safety during a shoot
Lily pollen leaves stubborn stains on skin and fabric, so remove the stamens beforehand. The sap of some plants, such as euphorbias, irritates the skin. If your model is allergic to pollen, use artificial or dried flowers.
FAQ
Who invented flower portraits?
The best-known early example is Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s composite heads from the 16th century.
Which flowers work for a petal face?
Bright, flat ones: roses, gerberas, daisies and carnations, plus leaves in different shapes.
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Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
