Nicolas Poussin’s Realm of Flora: The Botanical Renaissance and the Mysteries of the Flower, Sign, Circle and Ellipse

In spite of the preeminence of Nicolas Poussin as one of the great classicist painters in seventeenth century France, some of his earlier work has not received the attention it deserves. This article turns to his Realm of Flora (c. 1631) in order to study some salient aspects that have been neglected. First, Poussin followed what I call the “Botanical Renaissance.” This study foregrounds which elements he followed and which he transformed. In conjunction with this movement, this article highlights Poussin’s uses of Platonic philosophy through the works of Marsilio Ficino. The importance of Sol in his works is replicated here in the power of the solar rays to nourish nature. Thirdly, we consider the many metamorphoses in the work and their significance. Finally, we turn to the circle in the heavens with the planets, stars and twelve constellations and contrast it with the more elongated circle of the metamorphic figures on Earth in order to highlight the relation between zodiacal signs/stars and the flowers depicted. The circular constellations contrast with an elongated, even elliptical shape of the figures on Earth, perhaps to suggest the conflict, prevalent at the time, between the Copernican heliocentric and circular system with Kepler’s elliptical view of the path of the heavenly planets.