Bloemen in een vaas 1775 - 1833

Jean Bernard made this drawing, Flowers in a Vase, with pen in gray in the late 18th or early 19th century. Here, the vase, a symbol of containment and vessel, overflows with blooms, each variety carrying its own silent language. Observe how the roses, emblems of love and beauty since antiquity, are rendered with meticulous detail. The rose appears in the frescoes of Knossos, and later, in medieval tapestries, each time imbued with layers of meaning – from divine love to earthly passion. Notice the arrangement itself, the careful balance between naturalism and artifice. This tension echoes the human desire to control and categorize nature, a theme explored in countless still lifes across cultures. Perhaps, buried in this image, lies a collective memory of gardens past, from the hanging gardens of Babylon to the manicured lawns of Versailles. This image connects us to the cyclical dance of life and death.