ERNST STUVEN (Hamburg c. 1657 – Rotterdam 1712)
Roses with a Butterfly, Bluebottle and a Snail on a Stone Ledge
oil on canvas
14 1/8 x 12 1/8 in (36.1 x 31.1 cm.)
SNAIL POWER
A floral still life is a must-have in almost any well-rounded collection. These pictures can vary in exact components but they tend to follow the same parameters. A large and blooming floral bouquet, very often executed to technical perfection with the artist adding the most charming of details. Often placed for meaning, these details are still usually in keeping with the setting, for example a bee or fly. More unusual in the context of the setting is a snail sitting on the shelf or climbing up a leaf. Snails have been woven through culture for as long as art itself. But, how has such a seemingly uninteresting, and to some, unattractive creature taken such a center stage in art? They do not only appear in 17th century floral still lives, but across a wide range of cultures and time periods, occasionally even taking center stage.
To the ancient Greeks, snails represented fertility and fruition of hard work. The presence of snails indicated when crops were ready to harvest. Aristotle and Hippocrates both referred to them. There is even a Greek demi-god of shellfish, as he was turned into a slow-moving shellfish after crossing the Gods. The Aztecs also refer to snails, with one god wearing the spiral shell, representing cycles of the universe and reincarnation. Japanese culture considered snails the most fertile of beings and gods of water, while across the African continent, snails took on a variety of meanings from symbols of the creation of man to eternal life.
Snails and their round shells were often referenced, but their full-blown jump into art came with medieval manuscripts. Crossing borders by featuring in French, English, and Flemish manuscripts, and found anywhere from 12th to 15th century pieces, the snails were an enduring symbol of something. What that something is still confounds scholars to this day. Endless images of Knights fighting snails are illustrated all through medieval manuscripts, often in the margins, and unrelated to the text. Theories of the meaning of these incredibly fascinating illustrations range from representing social climbing new money or satirically mocking the strength of Knights, to more serious possibilities of signifying the Christian resurrection. Who knew that snails could be so versatile? Charming as these manuscripts are, they seem to be a launch pad for snails to move more extensively into art.
From the 14th century on, snails often make appearances in Renaissance paintings as symbols of purity and the virgin birth. They even make appearances in Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s allegorical painting of Autumn, representing harvest as the Greeks had thought of them. In Dutch 17th century flora still lives, along with the flowers and fruit, added as memento mori, signifying that death and decay will eventually come to all living things. Our floral still life by Ernst Stuven (Hamburg c. 1657 – Rotterdam 1712), Roses with a Butterfly, Bluebottle and a Snail on a Stone Ledge is a fine example of the use of snails to send a message that beauty is fleeting. The flowers in the painting are in full bloom, towards the completion of their life cycle, and the charming snail creeps onto the ledge, signalling the end is near, an important message in Dutch 17th century art.
Modern day artists have also not ignored this little creature, with Gaudi featuring snails as gargoyles on his Sagrada Familia along with other animals associated with decomposition, and one of Matisse’s most famous paper cut out abstract forms is– as he described it – a snail free from its shell. And let’s not forget the Surrealist genius of Dali, who prior to his first encounter with Sigmund Freud saw a snail outside and forever associated it with Freud’s mind and sexual dysfunction! What did we say about snails being versatile?
Snails can teach us a lot about appreciating not only the (assumed) insignificant things, but also that maybe slow isn’t laziness but developing and growing in a more thoughtful way. Contemporary artists are regularly using images of snails in their art, so what will snails represent next? Maybe they are already representing the ability to morph into whatever people need. Snails as a comfort – well that is a new thought.
12 January, 2022
Click here for more information about this painting