Page Twenty from 'Flora's Feast', the Peonies

Category

Library Item

Item no

40150

Title

Page twenty from 'Flora's Feast', the Peonies

Description

A distinguished older woman dressed in floral garments adopts a haughty stance as she places one hand on her hip and holds onto a staff fashioned from a budding peony. A young naked boy stands next to her covering himself with a peony in full bloom. The accompanying text reads:
"Great Peonies in crimson and pride,
And budding ones in green that hide".

Artist / maker

Crane, Walter

Date

1902

Size

25.0 x 18.5 cm

Type

Publisher's print

Location

Art and Design Library

In a similar vein to the earlier illustration of the Crocus (page 5), Crane uses the depiction of nakedness and youth to invoke innocence in a way that is not dissimilar to the representations of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden that were also prevalent in socialist visual culture. The Garden of Eden was often re-imagined as the paradise that was lost by capitalism but could be reclaimed through socialism (1).

The contrast between the young and old here also serves to help the reader envision the garden as a diverse, yet harmonious, community.

(1) Morna O'Neill, 'Walter Crane's Floral Fantasy: The Garden in Arts and Crafts Politics', Garden History, Vol.36, No.2 (2008), pp.293-4.

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Related subjects

Clothing and dress > Accessories > Headdresses

Clothing and dress > Accessories > Shoes

Clothing and dress > Accessories > Staffs

Clothing and dress > Garments > Cloaks

Clothing and dress > Garments > Dresses

People > Adults > Women

People > Children > Boys

Plants > Flowers > Flowers

Plants > Flowers > Peonies

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