Flora: Gardens and Plants in Art and Literature

By Edward Lucie-Smith

Gardens are reflections of paradise, sanctuaries from the daily grind. Every culture reflects the beauty of the garden, and Flora displays wonderful images of flowers and gardens from a wide variety... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0823018407
• ISBN13: 9780823018406
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.4" x 1.2" x 5.4"

Customer Reviews

The Perfect Blend of Art Imitating Nature

Edward Lucie-Smith has done it again! In this new book FLORA he explores a subject as history, and tells that story with very fine writing and with an emphasis on fine art to illustrate his thoughts. This is as fine a tour of the history of man and his garden as you will find. Beginning with ancient gardens as vistas of Paradise, he traces chapters on Sowing and Reaping, The Language of Flowers, Nature and the Traveler, Arcadian Landscapes, personal garden plots, and Imaginary Realms. Well researched and eminently readable (as are all of Lucie-Smith's books), this volume is a cornucopia of paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, Watteau, Alma-Tadema, Archimboldo, Bosch, Renoir, and Gauguin with a thoroughly delightful mixture of equallly fine paintings by such contempoary artists as John Nava, Martha Mayer Erlebacher, Wes Christensen, Hunt Slonem, Robert Bissell, Jacquelyn McBain, David Ligare and many others. FLORA is a welcome addition to this series of small books which nave included DOG, CAT, SEX, HORSE, ZOO, ADAM, etc. This is bound to delight both the art lover and the passionate gardener and will surely be a book for every coffee table, solarium and library. Highly recommended!!!