Lily and Rose from Les Fleurs du Mal

Label

Lowell Nesbitt isolates the lily and the rose, inviting us to linger and appreciate their grace. The bold comparison upends expectations—neither a bouquet nor a scientific botanical specimen, Nesbitt’s print creates a visual dialogue between color and form to emphasize the uniqueness of each flower.

This print is part of a larger portfolio titled Les Fleurs du Mal [The Flowers of Evil], named after Charles Baudelaire’s erotic and decadent poems first published in 1857. By referencing Baudelaire, Nesbitt also alludes to flowers as a plant’s reproductive organs and emphasizes their sexual connotations.

From the 2024 exhibition Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art

Exhibition History

Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 18, 2024 - March 10, 2025.

Contemporary Graphics: New Aquisitions, Lower Jewett Corridor, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 12, 1980-May 11, 1981.

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