Bloemen ruikers 1828 - 1913

This print of four flower bouquets was made by Erve Wijsmuller, probably in the Netherlands. These aren’t just pretty pictures. Flower prints like this played a key role in the Dutch Republic. The burgeoning middle class fueled an obsession with botany. They were avid gardeners, filling their homes with exotic blooms. But these flowers were expensive status symbols and bloomed at different times of the year. Prints like this offered a solution. They immortalized these fleeting beauties, allowing people to study and appreciate them year-round. But they also served as aspirational displays. Owning a print signaled your participation in the cultural conversation around botany, even if you couldn't afford the real thing. To understand this print better, we could delve into the history of Dutch horticulture, explore the social hierarchy of flower ownership, and even look at the scientific texts that classified these blooms. That's how we reveal the complex social life hidden within these seemingly simple bouquets.