The History of Floral Design

By maceypr
  • 500

    Middle Ages

    Middle Ages
    476-1450
    -little is known about the Middle Ages
    -We do know...
    -flowers grown and cultivated
    -flowers used to freshen the air
    -containers were made of Chinese porcelain and they were decorated with birds, lions, and dragons
  • Sep 3, 1300

    Renaissance

    Renaissance
    14th Century
    -began in Italy and spread through Europe
    -art represented religious history
    -brilliant colors were used
    -arrangements were large, tall, pyramidal, and symmetrically balanced
    DESIGN STYLES
    -all blossoms were visible
    -massive metal urns were used in arrangements
    EMPHASIS ON SYMBOLISM
    -white lily = chastity and fertility
    -roses = sacred and profane love
  • Sep 3, 1500

    Baroque Period

    Baroque Period
    14th-17th Century
    -common people could now afford flowers
    -designs became more creative and expressive
    -curved lines rather than straight
    -massed and overflowing arrangements
    HOGARTH CURVE
    -Willian Hogarth
    -asymmetrical
    -'s' shaped

  • Dutch-Flemish

    Dutch-Flemish
    14th-17th Century
    -variety of flowers now used in one arrangement
    -curving lines
    -taller than the height of the container
    -first to combine mass and line arrangements to make line-mass designs

  • French Period

    French Period
    17th and 18th Century
    -"Grand Era"
    -emphasized classic design, refinement and elegance
    -fan shaped and massive
    -first feminine appeal
    VASES
    -highly decorative
    -made of porcelain

  • English-Georian Period

    English-Georian Period
    18th Century
    -named for English King - George
    -English created the nosegay (or tussy-mussy) to safeguard from illness and smell
    -small handheld bouquet
    -vases were made to hold these flowers

  • Victorian Era

    Victorian Era
    1837-1901
    -named for Queen Victoria
    -designs were rather poor
    -generally asymmetrical with no focal point
    -toward the end they were the first to establish rules on flower arrangeing
    -schools of floral design emerged
    -required by "cultured girls"
    -flowers
    -made artificial flowers
    -nosegays became more popular
    -flower holder invented - jeweled
  • Period: to

    European Periods

  • Greek

    Greek
    600BC - 146BC
    -Did not arrange in vases or bouquets
    -flowers were scattered on the ground
    -wreaths worn by all Greeks during special events and presented to athletes
    -flowers symbolized gods or heros

  • Modern America

    Modern America
    1917-present
    -changes very little in the early years
    -corsages became popular in the 1920s
    -results of a designers individual expression and requires a creative mind