Flowers in an Ornamental Vase

At the top of this bouquet a sunflower and an opium poppy are turned pointedly toward each other, and in the 1670s both flowers carried meaning. The sunflower, which follows the sun, was used in 17th-century writing as an image of the devout Christian who follows Christ in everything. The poppy, which shuns the light, was linked with darkness and night. Maria van Oosterwijck was known for her piety, and the Mauritshuis finds it hard to believe she set the two face to face without a message, yet no one has found a conclusive explanation. The rest of the bouquet is unusual too. It includes thyme, cow parsley, larkspur, London pride and monkshood, plants rarely seen in flower paintings, and not a single tulip. The vase is decorated with putti, goats and vines, and on its lid a small bathing Venus has been turned so that she seems to be looking at the flowers. Much of the foliage has discoloured over time, which has flattened the depth the bouquet once had.