Royal Crown Derby;
Lalique SA; National Gallery of Art Washington DC; Xiao Kaixiong
(^10)
THE SHAPE OF
THINGS TO COME
Last year the worldâs rst
museum dedicated to roses opened in Beijing.
The 100-hectare park which was built to
coincide with the 2016 World Rose Convention
features 2000 species of the plant and is a
celebration of the countryâs long history of
rose cultivation. The Beijing Rose Museumâs
architecture is sculpturally stunning the
building wrapped with a stainless-steel âskinâ of
cut-out Chinese roses that play with light and
shade. The design is based on the concept of
old Chinese courtyard gardens and at night
the rose motifs light up like a garden all of
their own. Inside you can immerse yourself in
a 360-degree sea of roses create your own
virtual rose buy rose wine and tea and follow
the history of the rose through fashion and art.
It would seem the rose is very much here to
stay and has a long and prosperous future.
9
ROSES AT
THE ASYLUM
As the sun grew
slowly warmer in
Provence during the spring
of 1890 the artist Van Gogh
worked feverishly at his
canvas. A year had passed
since heâd admitted himself
to the asylum at Saint-Rémy
and painting in the gardens
had helped him recover from
the severe depression that
culminated in self-mutilation.
With his mental health much
improved he painted with a
renewed vigour working with
bright shades of pink and
green mirroring the spring
colours around him. Of the
four still lifes painted during
his final days at the asylum
two were of roses. Arguably
some of his finest work they
depict big blowsy blooms
typical of the type of cabbage
rose found in Provence. The
works hung in his motherâs
home until her death in 1907
by which time the roses had
faded to white.
H&A SUMMER 2017 129
H&A GUIDE: Design history