Seventeenth-century flower painters often made grateful use of the symbolic meanings traditionally associated with certain flowers. The bouquet depicted here by the painter Maria van Oosterwyck is a good example of this practice. The sunflower and poppy, facing one another, occupy a conspicuous place in the bouquet. In the seventeenth century the sunflower, which follows the sun’s course during the day and opens up to its warm rays, was occasionally compared to a devout person who always turns to God and is open to His Word. Thus, the sunflower was frequently used in flower still lifes with this significance in mind. The poppy, on the other hand, from whose sap opium could be made, was associated with darkness, the night sleep, and death.

The vase in which the flowers stand contains an undeniable reference to love. Venus, the goddess of love, kneels on the lid, while on the vase cherubs play with a goat, one of Venus’ attributes. The vines on the vase indicate that they are befuddled by the wine. Maria van Oosterwyck, one of the few female painters of the seventeenth century, came from a religious milieu: her grandfather, father and nephew were preachers. By combining all of these elements she was most likely alluding to concepts such as devotion, love and the transient nature of earthly existence.