Gallery of the flowers...

6:30 p.m.

“Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it, whether they want to or not.”

Georgia O’Keeffe, 1963

This quote opens the gallery at the Museo Thyssen in Madrid, which displays the flowers painted by American artist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986). It is referred to the people of New York, constantly on the run and with no time to contemplate a small flower that crosses their way. That's why O’Keeffe dedicates part of her life to paint them, large and colorful, so they don't go unnoticed. She definitely has achieved this since she became the highest paid female artist in 2014 when her painting Estramonio. Flor blanca N.1. was auctioned. There she presented a poisonous flower, which was her favorite, because of the enchantment produced by the blending of its beauty and its danger. Although it might have also been chosen for its symbolic value, since many found sexual meanings in her works, something she denied constantly.

Estramonio. Flor Blanca N.1, by Georgia O’Keeffe, 1932

Technique: oil on canvas

The flower in Estramonio. Flor Blanca N.1 has a surface so white that it feels fleshy thanks to O'Keeffe's skill in color change. Plus, such close-up shows us the influence that photography had on her paintings. Let us remember that her husband was the photographer Alfred Stieglitz and she surely lived surrounded by his friends, like Paul Strand. That influence is vindicated in these flowers that we never see complete but rather compressed within a framework too her choosing.

Many of Georgia's paintings are series and although her first work is realistic, as it progresses the edges of the flower begin to blur and turn into internal forms, depicting nature in a way never seen before.

Jack-in-the-pulpit N°4, by Georgia O’Keeffe (1930)

Technique: oil on canvas

Georgia O’Keeffe, Museo Thyssen

Technique: oil on canvas

The colors are bright, full of nuances and the composition is harmonious, but between petal and petal we see a greater intention towards abstraction in spite of the figuration. The harmonic composition that is reflected in her works is due to the influence of a teacher from her youth related to Japanese culture.

For this exhibition 35 museums lent work, especially from the United States.

Not only is Georgia O'Keeffe's technique marvelous, it also allows us to learn about the flora that surrounded her daily life.