“(…) the truth of real beauty did not lie so much in the beauty of a field of flowers but in the contemplation of the life of just one. By focusing on just one flower one might be able to break the perceptual gap that lies between the flower and oneself and to realize that the flower and oneself are not after all existentially separate.”
Vincent van Gogh, Sprig of Flowering Almond in a Glass, March 1888
Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh was born on the 30th March 1853. Since his birthday is coming up in a few days, I decided to write a little something to commemorate the happy occasion.
Van Gogh loved to paint flowers, sunflowers and irises most notably, but in early spring days he loved to capture the fleeting beauty of blooming orchards and sometimes, as you can see above in the painting “Sprig of Flowering Almond in a Glass”, even just one sprig of an almond blossom was a motif worthy of being captured on canvas. He painted this in March of 1888 in Arles where he had moved because of the warm climate, but he was instead welcomed by snow. Still, nature allowed this almond to bloom just in time for Vincent to paint it. Not a whole blooming tree, but a single sprig was beautiful enough to Vincent to capture it on canvas. This “portrait” of a flower is very different from most flower paintings of the time; it is simple and unpretentious, only a little branch with blossoms as young as the dawn of the day.
Those still lives with dozens and dozens of different flowers, all vibrant and beautiful without a doubt, can be overwhelming to the eye, but in this humble portrait of an almond branch we are allowed to focus on the details; on the delicate whiteness of the petals, on the crooked branch that delights the eyes with its perfect imperfection, on the tiny green leaves, even on the transparency of the glass vase and on the yellow lines on the table which bring to mind the play of the sunlight. This departure from the formal, the usual and the customary paintings of flowers and the insistance on simplicity brings to mind the spirit of wabi-sabi; it is an intuitive appreciation of the transient beauties of this material world, it is the understated beauty of the modest and imperfect things such as this small branch.
Shōka arrangement by the 40th headmaster Ikenobō Senjō, drawing from the Sōka Hyakki by the Shijō school, 1820
“The rhythm of blooming”, by watara_ikebana.
Shirō Kasamatsu, Springtime Ikebana, n.d.
The more I gazed at Van Gogh’s arrangement of a sprig of flowering almond in a glass, the more it reminded me of ikebana; the Japanese art of arranging flowers. This simple almond sprig, taken from nature, broken off from the tree branch, is suddenly transformed from something ‘natural’ to something ‘artistic’ in the very act of being put in the vase. Van Gogh was doubly artistic in a sense, for he arranged and then painted the almond blossoms. Moreover, he chose to portray a flower of humble, fragile, transient beauty. Ikebana literally means “living flowers” in Japanese and the roots of this art of arranging flowers can be traced back to the seventh century in the flower offerings to Buddha. Then, in the Muromachi period (1333–1568) a more sophisticated way of arranging flowers known as ‘rikka’ emerged and today the term is synonymous with the word ‘ikebana’. Every flower or plant carries a symbolism in this art and there are many strict rules when it comes to the arrangements. At times the rules seemed to matter more than the final aesthetic, but not to people like the sixteenth tea master and aesthetic-revolutionary Sen no Rikyu who embraced the wabi sabi aesthetic when it came to tea ceremonies, garden deisign and flower arrangement:
“Sen no Rikyu, with his dislike for rules and con-trived forms of beauty, felt that the real beauty and aesthetic value of flowers lay not in there adherence to rules but to the way in which they were sympathetically displayed.
It was Sen no Rikyu who started the nagaire movement, which means to “throw into,” and it is here where the spirit of wabi sabi can be found. Doing away with all formalism and again refraining fromusing opulent vases from mainland China, Rikyu remained true to his overall aesthetic scheme and chose the simplest of vases for the flower displays in his tea ceremonies, known as chabana (tea flowers). In place of more impressive flowers Rikyu insisted on the use of smaller wildflowers picked in the fields. He is said to have been the first to introduce the bamboo vase as a serious artistic expression, and the first vase used, called the Onjoji vase, has been treasured ever since. Even when the vase started to leak, the small pool of water that gathered around the bottom was appreciated as a natural flaw, beautiful and expressive in its own right.
On one occasion Rikyu had heard of Hideyoshi’s desire to see the beautiful morning glories that were in flower in the tea garden. Following protocol Hideyoshi was invited, but on his arrival he was surprised to see that all the morning glories had been cut. However, on entering the tearoom, Hideyoshi noticed an exquisite flower arrangement that consisted of just one beautiful morning glory. Rikyu was showing his master that the truth of real beauty did not lie so much in the beauty of a field of flowers but in the contemplation of the life of just one. By focusing on just one flower one might be able to break the perceptual gap that lies between the flower and oneself and to realize that the flower and oneself are not after all existentially separate.” (Andrew Juniper, Wabi-Sabi)
As passionate, crude and impetuous Van Gogh had been, at times, the fact that he painted these gentle blossoms, with such delicacy and tenderness, with such affection and attention, shows that indeed, as he once wrote, there was “calmness, pure harmony and music” inside of him. The practice of ikebana was suppose to be a way of calming one’s mind, and I can’t help but wonder, did it calm Vincent to gaze at these almond blossoms and paint them? Was it a visual meditation? And how long did they sit in that vase on his table and what sweet songs did they sing to him to soothe him? Flowers are soothing creatures, their beauty colours the life. One cannot be in the company of the flowers and remain angry, or want for anything more. A single flower is enough to make one smile and warm one’s heart.
Byron's Muse 
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