Mrs. Sylvester Dering 1878

Daniel Huntington painted Mrs. Sylvester Dering with oil on canvas, and it now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In her hand, she holds a delicate bouquet of white roses, symbols of purity, innocence, and new beginnings deeply rooted in classical antiquity. Consider Botticelli’s Venus, adorned with roses, embodying love and beauty. This motif persists through time. We observe its re-emergence in Victorian portraiture as a statement of virtue and high social standing, subtly shifting its meaning. Like Venus rising from the sea, the rose motif constantly returns. Here, the rose operates on a subconscious level, engaging our deepest emotions tied to love, beauty, and perhaps a longing for a bygone era of innocence. The cyclical nature of symbols reveals how cultural memory subtly shapes our perceptions and imbues artworks with an enduring emotional power, transcending the boundaries of time and space.