Crown imperials (Fritillaria) Symbolism
Crown imperials (Fritillaria) are showy spring flowers whose stately, crown-like presence has long suited them to images of display and refinement. In art, they evoke regal grandeur and cultivated taste, while their brief blooming season makes them apt emblems of beauty’s short-lived glory.
Crown imperials (Fritillaria) in Still Life with Flowers
In Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Still Life with Flowers (1885), crown imperials form part of a jubilant bouquet arranged in a pale, crackled vase before softly dissolving wallpaper and a wicker screen. Renoir’s quick, clear strokes and the centered, oval mass lend the display a poised, classical presence, so the fritillaria read as signs of cultivated status and elegant show.
At the same time, the slight droop of blossoms that turns the scene into a gentle vanitas inflects the crown imperials with transience, aligning their showy spring bloom with the savoring of beauty before it fades.
