In
fine arts, flowers are most beautifully depicted as still lifes, where the
artists focus on cut flowers in vases. During the 19th century, when painters
studied motifs outdoors and explored colours and forms, poppy fields and motifs
of gardens boasting differernt kinds of flowers found their way onto their
landscapes. The natural contrasting poppy colours of, red and green were an
ideal artistic motif for the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, who liked
to use them as a vibrant accent in their compositions. Among the well-known
examples are the poppy fields by Claude Monet (1840−1926) and Vincent van Gogh
(1853−1890), who approached their landscape paintings from the perspective of a
stroller. In his late period, van Gogh came under the influence of Japonisme and especially the woodcuts of Utagawa Hiroshige (1797−1858), the last master
of the so-called ukiyo-e tradition (1670–1868), which could be
translated as “images of the floating world” and also included fragments from
nature, close-ups and detailed studies of plants. This style influenced
European visual arts with unfamiliar points-of-view and layout, with clear
contours and lack of perspective, heightened colour contrasts, absence of
plasticity created through the interplay of light and shadow, patterns
emphasising the rhythm of lines, ornaments and repetitions, and with the
decorative arrangement of the painting surface. Thus, from the second half of
the 19th century onward, focus on natural aspects appealed to many artists,
including Matej Sternen (1870−1949) with the painting The Poppies.
Unlike
the traditional floral still lifes, as presented by Ivan Vavpotič (1877−1943)
with Turkish poppies and Fran Tratnik (1881−1957) with field poppies,
Sternen's poppies grow in the foreground directly from the lower edge of the
painting. We gaze at them directly, up close, and see them almost in their
entirety (the roots are an exception), as if we are observing a botanical
illustration. At first, the depiction is misleading – it seems like we are
observing a strip of a poppy field, but the sense of artificial lighting and
thoughtful composition suggest that the painting is, most likely, a studio
piece.
Sternen's
poppies do not grow among wheat and grasses, nor are they accompanied by the
cornflower, the second most widespread weed – instead, we see irises in a
dominant white colour. Observing the motif carefully, we can recognise flower
species – the so-called Turkish poppy is painted in the company of bearded
irises. Both flowers are ornamental perennials of European gardens and their
coexistence is entirely possible. The tall Turkish poppy with its large and
outstanding flowers grows beautifully among the shorter irises, which are
sparsely planted. Bearded irises are also interesting because of their white
flowers, which botanists achieved by cross-breeding, since its most
characteristic colour is blue-violet or lilac.
The
Turkish poppy lacks specific symbolism, but shares one with all poppies. Field
poppies, which found their ideal habitat in wheat fields, since they prefer
plowed land, are associated since antiquity with Demeter, the goddess of
agriculture, harvest and fertility. The numerous seeds of the field poppy are
very durable and can survive for years in the soil of abandoned fields, waiting
for re-cultivation. In modern times, however, poppies are mostly seen as
memorial flowers for fallen soldiers in wars and armed conflicts. This
symbolism developed after the First World War, especially in the Commonwealth
countries, and refers to the poem In Flanders Fields from 1915, which
mentions poppies that bloomed among the graves of fallen soldiers and can also
be understood as the triumph of life over destruction. Regardless of any
symbolism that has been attributed to poppies throughout history, it is
undeniable that they delight in fields and gardens and also survive briefly as
cut flowers in our homes. Besides painters, they have also inspired writers,
and especially poets, who included them in their verses about the transient
nature of reality and, at the same time, the power of love.
Sternen's Poppies also feature in contemporary Slovenian literature. In the story
of the same name in the book Closeness, As Prescribed (Bližina
na recept) by Helena Šuklje, this Sternen painting features as a central
motif of a narrative about the nature of human relations, always interesting
and complex.