Boys with Plants: A Historical Survey of Men and Flora in Art
Launched in 2016 by graphic designer Scott Cain, the Instagram account @boyswithplants showcases men alongside exotic plants and culminated in the 2019 publication 'Boys with Plants: 50 Boys and the Plants They Love'. This phenomenon draws inspiration from a legacy in both Western and Indian art. Albrecht Dürer's 1493 work, 'Self-Portrait with Holly', represents marital loyalty, while Anthony van Dyck's 1632 'Self-Portrait with a Sunflower' acted as royalist propaganda. The Deccani artwork 'Prince Sniffing a Rose' (circa 1700) likely illustrates Prince Bidar Bakht. Rembrandt Peale's 1801 piece 'Rubens Peale with a Geranium' showcases the first geranium in the New World, and Vincent van Gogh's 1889 'Portrait of Joseph Roulin' includes summer blooms. Gauguin's 1891 'Young Man with a Flower Behind his Ear' features Jotefa.
Key facts
- Instagram account @boyswithplants started in 2016 by Scott Cain
- Coffee-table book 'Boys with Plants: 50 Boys and the Plants They Love' published in 2019
- Albrecht Dürer's 'Self-Portrait with Holly' (1493) at Louvre, Paris
- Dürer's thistle interpreted as fidelity (Mannstreu) or Christ's Passion
- Anthony van Dyck's 'Self-Portrait with a Sunflower' (1632) in private collection
- Van Dyck's portrait used as royalist propaganda during English Civil War
- Deccani painting 'Prince Sniffing a Rose' (c. 1700) at National Museum, New Delhi
- Prince likely Bidar Bakht, died in Battle of Jajau (1707)
- Rembrandt Peale's 'Rubens Peale with a Geranium' (1801) at National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Geranium was first specimen grown in New World
- Vincent van Gogh's 'Portrait of Joseph Roulin' (1889) at Kröller-Müller Museum
- Van Gogh painted six portraits of Joseph Roulin
- Paul Gauguin's 'Young Man with a Flower Behind his Ear' (1891) in private collection
- Subject Jotefa introduced Gauguin to Tahitian culture
Entities
Artists
- Albrecht Dürer
- Anthony van Dyck
- Rembrandt Peale
- Vincent van Gogh
- Paul Gauguin
- Scott Cain
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Charles I of England
- Prince Bidar Bakht
- Azam Shah
- Aurangzeb
- Rubens Peale
- Joseph Roulin
- Jotefa
- Agnes Frey
- Pablo Picasso
- Henri Matisse
- George Washington
- Thomas Jefferson
- Prince Muazzam
Institutions
- Louvre
- National Museum, New Delhi
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Kröller-Müller Museum
- Scottish National Gallery
- National Academy of Design
- Boys with Plants
Locations
- Nuremberg
- Germany
- Strasbourg
- France
- Paris
- Antwerp
- Belgium
- England
- Peru
- Golconda
- India
- New Delhi
- Malwa
- Gujarat
- Deccan
- Agra
- Jajau
- Philadelphia
- United States
- Washington, DC
- Arles
- Otterlo
- Netherlands
- Tahiti
- French Polynesia
- Edinburgh
- UK