Portraits in Bloom:
Essay by Paulette Tavormina

Flowers depicted in 17th-century Old Master still life paintings have had an immense influence on my photographic imagery. The flowers adorning those canvases were not merely decorative; they were rich in symbolism and cultural meaning. Wilting blooms, for example, symbolized the brevity of life — a reminder that beauty, wealth, and earthly pleasures are fleeting. During the Dutch Golden Age, painters conveyed their patrons’ wealth while showcasing a growing interest in botany and the natural sciences.

I’ve always been drawn to flowers, ever since spending time in my grandparents’ garden on Long Island. My grandfather was an avid gardener. His flourishing garden of flowers, vegetables, and raspberries that spilled over the neighbor’s fence — which I loved to pluck — remains one of my most cherished memories. He built glass cold frames and grew seedlings; his garden included peach and Italian plum trees, plate-sized dahlias, and fig trees, among many other specimens. I still have a fig tree grown from a cutting of his, along with dozens of flowers I cultivate for use in my photography and to beautify my home. My grandmother won blue ribbons for her exquisite roses, and my mother also loved flowers, many of which now grow in my Connecticut garden.