With radiant color and lavish detail, this collection of 19th and early 20th-century Viennese floral paintings tells a captivating story of artistic transformation.

In this breathtaking book, richly illustrated chapters explore different artists’ takes on floral paintings. Outstanding Viennese artists, from Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller to Gustav Klimt, tested their skills by painting opulent floral works. Readers will learn how the depiction of flowers in this period echoed the evolution of painting styles as artists liberated themselves from formal techniques, how women, excluded from painting academies, turned to flowers as a means of expression and emancipation, and how modern artists are influenced today by floral masterpieces of the past. Additional chapters examine the role of the sunflower in particular and the role of orientalism in the Biedermeier period, while brief essays on porcelain painting and botany provide additional perspectives. Generously illustrated, this wide-ranging and informative history offers a veritable bounty of floral delights.