In the 17th century... it was in the Baroque period... painter and copperplate engraver specifically in Holland and Flanders made still lifes for capturing the beauty of nature. It was an age of exploration. For instance naturalist and artist Maria Sybilla Merian published her own books with beautiful paintings of flowers and butterflies to show people the beauty of nature from Suriname.
Today I can go to the flowershop round the corner... and find even in a late spring
fresh poppy...
kangaroo paw and tuberose
craspedia globosa... yellow drumstick
(stick of birch from the wood)...
freesia and checkered daffodil... tulips and branches of birch
and I design a still life... taking photos of it... trying to capture the beauty my way
Currently I dive into the era of the scarina Catherine the Great
and have got the obsession to own a pretty piece of the Royal porcelain manufacture of St. Petersburg, 1744 ... Lomonosov... like 'cobalt web' (see above with lychee)... now a piece from 'singing garden'.
I have tried to buy a stemmed fruit bowl by an online public sale... was bidding at an auction... but... I exited... too high... too expensive.... watched the count down with tears in my eyes... our children cheered me on to bid again... I was conflicted... countdown has started... 3...2... again a higher bid... not by me...1... finished.
Then our eldest daughter has said: "Mom, look at Dad!" As I looked at him he smiled... pointed at his screen... HE has auctioned the stemmed fruit bowl... for me... isn't that beautiful?!
Here it is:
This week's drawing challenge is hosted by woolfy Nadeschda with beauty...
The last days I have made a collection of items... wrote them down because of my bursting head... beauty: is in the eye of the beholder... depending on many things... from education to status quo of mood... beauty... is lively...
is perceptible by the senses... a treat for the eyes (and the other senses...)... delicious... proportion... harmony... vibration... sound... excitation... even philosophico-erotic... blessing... mirror of the soul...holy... is simple... so, is beauty producible after all?... can one only find it open-minded and open-hearted?
I am ever eager to find beauty... its a need... and... I love to come to the beauty of yours via dear Nadeschda.
♥
dc
...
Next: No 99 at the 20th + 21st of April here at my place with... TILES
Follow: No 100 at the 27th + 28th of April at Patrice's
Follow: No 100 at the 27th + 28th of April at Patrice's
...
♥
you know dear Ariane
AntwortenLöschenI had your blog in my mind, here is always that kind of beauty and today again. Wonderful pictures! Flowers are beauties. Nature is.
Mostly I love the story with your husband, that´s beautiful and you must be a lucky woman!
Sometimes it´s crazy to be crazy for something, isn´t it?
fine weekend to you
x Stefanie
so many beautiful pictures, I don't know were to start! I just think you take beautiful pictures and captured so many themes of beauty! just wonderfull! have a good weekend!
AntwortenLöschenbeauty is your theme
AntwortenLöschenyou yourself are a beautiful person
that you opened up your house and heart
for me last year
inviting me into your home
without knowing me
makes you very special
this post is all so you
all those flowers
i can almost smell them
and that fruit bowl is a beauty
have a wonderful weekend!
love
and a big hug
your friend
Patrice A.
xo
You, dearest Ariane, take the most BEAUTIFUL photos with such tenderness!
AntwortenLöschenWhat a dear man your husband.
xo Carole
Your photos are lovely and that is such a beautiful story you put tears in my eyes. Thank you for sharing that.
AntwortenLöschenbeauty resides wherever the trained eye lingers... and so is 'mine' eye, is lingering now, here. your beauty, ariane, lies in the depth of your story, bidding aganinst your spouse, ... losing a bid can never before have been SO exciting, right??!!
AntwortenLöschenwhat you show us here, and how you show the beauty you so love, is ravishing. as i strolled past your first images, i immediately thought of merian, and how the woman would have been able to take inspiration, and so it was! your gift back to her... the lychees in the cup look SO inviting. great shots, wonderful displays.
and now fully enjoy the sight of your bowl, and the story, forever behind it. that bird didn't fly, after all! ;)))
n♥
I knew you would transport us into a magical floral world Ariane! I do so love how you see the world around you :)
AntwortenLöschenThere is such a soft and sweet sensibility here. How wonderful that your husband made a special gesture to treat you! The piece is lovely, as are your photos. Cindi
AntwortenLöschenoh sigh... another beauty filled post. I am so enjoying them all this week. Yours with such beauty filled images and to add that a beauty filled story. Thank you so much for sharing.
AntwortenLöschenOh, die Bilder selbst sind schon alle so schön, aber wie schön ist bitte die Geschichte mit der Obstschale? Wenn das nicht romantisch ist, dann weiß ich's nicht! *seufz*
AntwortenLöschenGanz schön schöner Beitrag zur Schönheit, liebe Ariane!
I enjoy the beauty always found at your place, Ariane. Happy new week, sus
AntwortenLöschenEinfach wunder wunderschön, eine richtige Wohltat für wintergeplagte Augen, diese Arrangements und ich habe nicht die geringste Ahnung, wie du das fotografische immer hinkriegst - aber Chapeau! Und wie Tania sagt: sehr romantisch, die Geschichte deiner wunderschönen Obstschale.
AntwortenLöschenIch bin übrigens ein sehr grosser Fan von Maria Sybilla Merian und finde du hast ihr Werk wunderbar umgesetzt.
Barbara
i always feel here like landing on a floating soft cloud perfumed by fowers and colored by someone who constantly looks for and sees gorgeous color combination,fresh, with a touch of gold and the beautiful blue pattern of your fruit bowl, yes Ariane when heart and mind are open... xx
AntwortenLöschenYou share so many ebautiful belongings through you poetic photos and prose. Thank you! I would like to join in the tile challenge too.
AntwortenLöschenbeautiful! (Wasnt wearing my rose colored spelling lenses! Sorry for the typo....). Please count me in for the TILE challenge. I love the flowers, Oh my so amazing.
AntwortenLöschenAriane, dear, you stir my thoughts about beauty. I think it really is in the eye of the beholder. I think that people can make things that they think is beautiful and I personally do not. Lots of examples in art. And lots of examples in interior design (what folk open their eyes to upon waking.) YIKES!! I read somewhere that what you see first thing upon waking is how you will feel [mood] for the whole day, so get the most beautiful alarm clock that you can find [do not use an old plastic, or broken down clock] to put on your bedside table surface and that is what you'll see. I like this idea. As I age, I see more beauty in broken things. Who knows why. I see beauty in what they once were. Perhaps I see myself in there somehow. I love the cobalt web cup filled with pale pink softness. That is certainly beautiful. Love your post, N, xo
AntwortenLöschenp.s. I just realized that you did not take the '100' spot with tiles. Patrice is the lovely host.