The Temple of Flora, or Garden of Nature: The Nodding Renealmia

1801

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

The Temple of Flora, or Garden of Nature: The Nodding Renealmia is a 1801 by Robert John Thornton, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Robert John Thornton
When & what style?: 1801 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This painting shows a single plant with bright yellow and white flowers drooping on a thick green stem. Behind it, a dark leaf cuts across the scene, and in the far background, a hazy landscape with a lake, palm trees, and rolling hills fades into the sky. Tiny water droplets cling to the petals and leaf edges. The title calls it *The Nodding Renealmia*, a rare tropical flower. Thornton painted it in 1801, when Europeans were fascinated by exotic plants. Next, look up Romanticism to see how artists used nature to explore big ideas.