DelArt Exhibit: The Symbolic Language Of Plants

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It didn't start with Valentine's Day. Flowers have been silent signals between sweethearts as well as symbols in art since ancient times.

Roman artists represented love by a rose; the Egyptians linked lilies to fertility, and in Asian art, lotus flowers stood for beauty.

A current exhibit at the Delaware Art Museum, Beyond Words: The Symbolic Language of Plants, includes 60 current botanical works exploring the symbolic meaning of plants in artwork across cultures throughout history.

Another current exhibit at the Delaware Art Museum was inspired by flower names, but the depictions aren't of plants at all. These small, circular images are from The Flower Book of Edward Burne-Jones, who was inspired to paint watercolors of romantic scenes by quaint 19th century common flower names such as 'Venus', 'Looking Glass,' and 'Love in a Mist.'

You can enjoy both exhibits at the Delaware Art Museum at 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE 19806, Wednesdays through Sundays from now into April.

Details: DelArt.org/exhibitions.