It probably will not come as a surprise to anyone that the chrysanthemum is the birth flower for November. Chrysanthemums have a long symbolic history with meanings including longevity, fidelity, joy, and rebirth.  Chrysanthemums were used for medicinal purposes in China during the 15th Century BCE. Their roots were boiled and the tea was drunk to relieve headaches, and their sprouts and petals were eaten in salads. A sweet tea made from the flower was used to treat the common cold, dizziness, and high cholesterol. Mum wine is drunk on the ninth day of the ninth month to preserve peace, health, and old age. Mums were celebrated in paintings and poetry. Qu Yuan (340-278 BCE), in his poem Li Sao wrote, “Drink dew from the magnolia in the morning and take autumn chrysanthemum’s falling petals as food for the evening.”

‘’Chrysanthemum” (1598-1625)

The Chinese word for chrysanthemum, ju, means “gathering together” and “Autum flower.” Mums bloom in cool weather, forecast the coming of winter, and because they survive in the cold, they are symbolic of surviving hardship.  “Chrysanthemum” (1598-1625) (12”x10.5”) is a painting made by Chen Hongshou after a work by an ancient Chinese master of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The perfect alignment of the mum petals seen in the painting became a symbol for nobility, and the flower became the property of the nobility only.  

Buddhist monks took the mum to Japan in 400 CE. “Kiku,” the Japanese name for the mum, quickly became the emperors crest and the Imperial Seal of Japan. The precise order of petals, 16 in front and 16 in the second row, was revered for its beauty and its precision. The tradition of the Chrysanthemum Throne, decorated with mums, began in the early 5th Century by Emperor Sima Jin (266-420 CE). The highest military order is the Order of the Chrysanthemum.  National Chrysanthemum Day on September 9 is a yearly holiday that began in 910 CE at the first garden show of mums.

The image “Chrysanthemum and River” (1856) (wood cut), by the famous Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige, is on a fan. The red mums are symbolic of love, passion, and respect. The white mums represent loyalty and honesty. White mum blossoms are used in funerals, and to decorate graves. Hiroshige’s composition combines the beautiful mums and the dark blue water to create a striking image.

“Chrysanthemums in a Chinese Vase” (1873)

The mum was brought to Europe in the 17th Century.  Karl Linnaeus (1701-1778), the father of modern taxonomy, gave the flower the name chrysanthemum. Chrysos is the Greek word for gold, and anthos means flower. “Chrysanthemums in a Chinese Vase” (1873) (19.7”x 24”) is by the French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. Pissarro mixes his bouquet of red, white, and yellow mums and places it in a Chinese vase. It is unlikely Pissarro realized the significance of the Chinese vase, but he used it effectively in the composition. The white mums form a triangle, some at the top of the bouquet and others sloping down to create a casual arrangement. The colors of the mums, red, white, and yellow, are repeated in the vase, along with the dark blue and green colors of the leaves. Red, white, and green books are placed next to the vase on the wood table. The suggested pattern of mums in the vertical stripes of the wall paper balances the strong horizontal lines of the table and books.  

“Athena and her Owl” (490-480 BCE)

For those born between November 22 and December 21, the Native American totem animal is the owl. The symbolism of the owl extends far into the past. The Greek goddess of war and wisdom was often depicted with an owl. “Athena and her Owl” (490-480 BCE) is a Greek red-figure lekythos (oil container) painted by the Brygos Painter. The owl represents Athena’s great wisdom since it can see in the day and the night. Athena sees and hears what others cannot. The owl flies silently and far, and it brings Athena news from many places. In this image Athena, as goddess of war, is represented by her spear and helmet. The head of Medusa and the snakes ringing Athena’s gown, add to her power as goddess of war. The meander pattern appears in pairs across the rim of the vase, the unbroken line forming each square symbolizes eternity, unity, and infinity.

“Great Horned Owl” (1827-1838)

Owls are important symbols for Native American tribes. Their esteem for owls is similar to the Greeks. The owls’ power to see in the dark, their great hearing, their silent flight, and their aggressive nature are signs of great power. Their screeches, hoots, and barks signal specific warnings. Some tribes believe the presence of an owl is a dire warning of death; other tribes believe they are great medicine, possess magic powers, and are important protectors. 

“Great Horned Owl” (1827-1838) (Plate 39, Audubon’s Birds of America) (10.25’’x6’5’) is a depiction of one of the most common owls found in North America. The Choctaw, Ojibway, Cherokee, and Cheyenne tribes believe the great horned owl to be the most dangerous. Its ear-like tufts were evidence of great hearing, its large yellow eyes stare with intensity, and its deep hoots echo through the landscape. The owls were great hunters who captured and killed prey larger than themselves, their long claws providing the necessary weapon. They were considered great warriors.  

“Heehee Owl” (2004)

The owl is a popular subject in Native American art. The owl is often placed at the top of the totem pole that celebrates the life of the carver and his family. The first white man to see a totem pole probably was Captain James Cook in 1778. The word totem is from the Ojibwe word odooem (his kinship group).  Native American artists frequently use the image of the owl on jewelry, pottery, and numerous wood carvings, including totem poles. “Heehee Owl” (Great Horned Owl) (2004) (sumac wood) (10’’) was carved by Wilmer Nadjiwon (1922-2018) (Cape Crocker, Canada) who was Ojibway and Chippewa.  Using the unique growing patterns of sumac wood, he has created a simple and effective sculpture of the great horns and piercing eyes of the owl. 

Nadjiwon was a survivor of being forced into a Indian residential school, a signalman and gunner in WWII, Chief of the Chippawa, a supporter of Indian causes, and a writer. His book Neither Wolf, Nor Dog: An Ojibway Elder’s Tales of Residential School, Wartime Service, First Nations Politics, and Some Experiences with the Great Spirit (2012) provides an honest appraisal of his early life and abuse in the school. “I have been many things in my life: a fisherman, a trapper, a hunter, a construction worker, a student, an activist, a politician, an Indian chief. I have worked in logging camps and factories. I have walked the steel, painted houses, picked fruit, gathered cedar brush, and tried to start businesses; some failed, some succeeded.” (Interview, Sun Times, Ontario (2012).

Since owls mostly are active at night, ancient superstitions considered seeing an owl in the daytime to be bad luck. Owls were thought to be the companions of witches and wizards. Fans of Harry Potter know his owl Hedwig faithfully carried messages and packages, a great comfort to Harry who needed the assurance that his messages would get through. When asked about the owl, author J.K. Rowlings said she had always loved owls, perhaps because her mother made her an toy owl when she was a little girl. She chose a Snowy Owl for Harry because it is white and is a symbol of innocence. Apparently, owl fanciers have told her that she made a mistake making Hedwig a Snowy Owl, because it flies in the daylight, it does not chirp or hoot, and it does not eat bacon. 

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

Banksy is a contemporary English street artist whose graffiti and stencil art appear suddenly, anywhere in the world, and in unexpected places. First noticed in the 1990s, his art comments on contemporary political and social themes. It highlights issues including greed, despair, poverty, anti-war, anti-authoritarianism, hypocrisy, and climate change. Banksy communicates via Instagram and Twitter, and he occasionally gives interviews. 

Banksy’s images began to appear in the 1980s as a part the Bristol underground scene. His wall art has appeared in Los Angeles in 2002, New York in 2005, Palestine in 2005, New Orleans after Katrina in 2008, and to mark the end of the United National Climate Change Conference in 2009, and in Ukraine in 2022.

Gymnast doing a handstand (November 2022)

The gymnast doing a handstand (November 2022) (Borodyanka, Ukraine) was painted on the side of a building bombed by the Russians. The female gymnast, painted in Banksy’s familiar black and white, appears to balance on the partially attached fallen chunks of the building. Exposed metal bars curl from the top of the building. Banksy posted on Instagram the image accompanied by women singing Ukrainian folk music. 

Borodyanka suffered massive Russian bombardments at the beginning of the war, because it was the Russian main access to Kyiv. It was occupied on February 24, 2022. The gymnast doing a handstand was one of the first images the Ukrainians saw when they returned to Borodyanka after it was liberated on April 11, 2022. The public response was immediate and positive. Messages on social media came from Ukrainians world-wide. “This is such a historic moment for our country, that people like Banksy and other famous figures are coming here and showing the world what Russia has done to us,” a Kyiv resident told Al Jazeera English in a video posted to Twitter.

Martial arts (2022)

The painting of martial arts (2022) (Borodyanka, Ukraine) depicts a small boy and a large man, both wearing white martial arts uniforms. The boy easily flips the large man onto the mat. The small boy wins. Although the face of the large man is not distinct, he likely represents Putin being defeated by the smaller force of Ukraine. Both figures wear black belts, but Putin’s was honorary, given to him in November 2013. On February 28, 2022, the international associations of Taekwondo, Judo, Summer Olympics, and Paralympics revoked his black belt status, condemning his war in Ukraine and citing the Taekwondo motto “Peace is more precious than Triumph.”

Children on a seesaw (Independence Square, Kiev) (2022)

The painting of the children on the wall depicts them happily playing behind a construction of parts from a destroyed tank and a transport truck as if it were a seesaw.

Woman in hair curlers wearing a gas mask and holding a fire extinguisher (Hostomel, Ukraine) (2022)

Banksy painted the woman in hair curlers wearing a gas mask and holding a fire extinguisher on the wall of a bombed house in Hostomel, Ukraine. The Hostomel airport, southeast of Borodyanka, also was destroyed in the early days of the invasion. Banksy carefully selects the placement of his paintings to make significant statements. A real chair is placed on the ground and the woman appears to be standing on it.  Remove the chair and she is suspended in space. Her fire extinguisher has not benefitted her. The black smoke on the window and the blackness of the burned interior provides a striking contrast to the bright yellow wall and red fire extinguisher. The cat is not a permanent part of the scene, but in this case, its presence reminds us of beloved pets also in crisis.

A Ukrainian man is now facing a twelve-year jail sentence for stealing this image. He cut the mural from the wall with a wood saw. He was immediately arrested; he said he wanted to save the painting from destruction and to sell it to raise funds for the Ukrainian army. The residents of Hostomel want to keep the mural there. The intact mural is safely stored in the town jail.

Man in bathtub (Hostomel, Ukraine) (2022)

If the war in Ukraine were not so terrible, man in bathtub might be funny. In the painting, a bearded old man sits in a claw footed bath tub full of soap bubbles and washes his back. Shredded layers of wall paper clinging to the upper wall of the room look like laundry hung up to dry. Above him are at least four stories of a bombed apartment building, ready to fall on him at any moment. 

Rhythmic gymnast (Irpin, Ukraine) (2022)

In the painting of rhythmic gymnast (Irpin, Ukraine) (2022), a Ukrainian girl wearing a neck brace balances on one foot while spinning her satin ribbon in the required spirals and circles. At first, she appears to be standing on a large black rock, but it is a hole blasted in the wall of the building. 

Ukrainian postage stamp (2023)

On February 20, 2023, the beginning of the second year of the invasion, the Ukrainian Post Office issued a postage stamp with the Banksy martial arts image.

“Fragile” (2023) depicts a Banksy white rat clinging to a cardboard shipping box marked FRAGILE. The rat is one of his iconic images. Bansky rats have appeared everywhere and on everything as social commentary. “Fragile” represents the condition that Ukraine remains in today.  

Although Banksy remains anonymous, his art sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The funds raised are dedicated to specific causes.  In March 2023. one of Banksy’s anti-war prints was sold at auction for $106,505 to support a children’s hospital in Kyiv. Bansky created “Fragile” (2023) to raise money for the international charity Legacy of War Foundation that supplies ambulances and medical supplies. He announced the project on Instagram, stating there would be 50 prints, each selling for 5000 pounds, targeted for Ukraine aid. Each unique print was signed and Banksy made the rat scratches using a sharpened pizza cutter to make each one unique. More than one million buyers responded to purchase the 50 prints. Banksy wrote, “In Ukraine, I saw a Legacy of War team sweep in and provide medical attention, heaters, fresh water and a friendly face to some very desperate people in a bombed-out building.” He added, “They also lent me one of their ambulances to work from, which turned out to be extremely useful when an angry babushka found me painting on her building and called the police.”

Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, tweeted the following message to Banksy: “Ukraine today is the center of attention, center of resistance, freedom, true art.@banksy confirmed that he created seven murals in different parts of Ukraine, including Borodyanka, Irpin and Kyiv. It means a great deal to us. We are so grateful, Sir!”

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

St Hubert is the patron saint of hunters, dogs, archers, knights, and metalworkers. His feast day is November 3. Hubert of Liege was born in 656 CE. He was the grandson of the King of Toulouse and son of the Duke of Aquitaine. Born into nobility and raised in luxury, he was well educated, and a skilled hunter. His favorite pastime, even on holy days, was the hunt (la chasse).  

St Hubert’s Chapel façade, Chateau d’Amboise (c. 1470-1498)

The Chateau d’Amboise is in the Loire Vallery in the center of France. It was built in the 11th Century by the Count of Anjou as a fortress overlooking the Loire River.  King Charles VIII (1470-1498) re-built it in the Flamboyant Gothic style. At the entrance door to St Hubert’s Chapel the carvings are a depiction of the Virgin and Child under elaborately decorated pointed arches. The Madonna and Child are enclosed by a mandorla, the decorated almond-shaped design behind them. A mandorla is formed by the intersection of two circles. It represents divine light, and it was reserved for the depiction of the adult Christ and the Virgin and Child. Kneeling to the right and left are Charles VIII and his queen Anne of Brittany. Entwined in the three-pointed arches are four angels with censors. They swing them back and forth releasing incense to purify the air and send prayers to Heaven. Two angels kneel below the Virgin and Child. They hold a banner and support shields bearing the family coat of arms.

“Miracle of the Stag” (lintel detail)

“Miracle of the Stag,” carved on the lintel beam above the door depicts St Hubert holding his horse and kneeling before the stag. The legend of St Hubert tells that he married the noble lady Floribanne, who also liked to ride to the hunt. They married in 682 and had a son, Floribert. Floribanne died soon after giving birth during Holy Week in 684. Hubert, as he frequently had done, skipped the church services to go hunting.  He followed an impressive stag. The stag suddenly turned to look at him, and Hubert saw a crucifixion between the its antlers. A voice from Heaven said, “Hubert, unless you turn to the Lord, and lead a holy life, you shall quickly go down into Hell.” Hubert fell to his knees and asked what he was to do. The voice told him to go to Rome and find Bishop Lambert who would explain what was required of him.

“Miracle of the Stag” (detail)

The carving of the stag and Hubert’s hunting dogs is centered on the lintel. It is thought to be the work of a Netherlands sculptor, possibly Casin d’Utrecht. The dogs surround the stag but do not challenge him. The largest dog has stretched out on the ground. The antlers and crucifixion stand out. They are either carved wood or metal. Lacking knowledge of perspective, the carver placed a row of small trees behind the figures.

Images of St Hubert were very popular in the Middle Ages and later. “The Vision of St Hubert” (1617) (25’’x40’’) is one of many collaborations between Antwerp artists Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and Jan (Velvet) Brueghel (1601-1678). Rubens and Brueghel were fast friends, each having a special talent. Brueghel, famous for his landscapes, painted the plants and animals, and Rubens painted the figures. Brueghel’s lush forest landscape includes a variety of trees and grasses, stream, and sky. His rendering of the stag, Hubert’s horse, and hunting dogs is remarkable. Hubert and the stag look intently at each other. A small cross is suspended between the stag’s antlers.

After experiencing the vision, Hubert gave his possessions to the poor, renounced all his titles, and gave his son to his younger brother. Hubert became a priest. Following the direction of Bishop Lambert of Maastricht, Hubert lived with the pagan people of the forest of the Ardennes. His hunting skills impressed them, and with prayer and sermons, which he delivered with conviction and eloquence, he converted hundreds to Christianity. He was known as the Apostle of the Ardennes.

The story continues in “St Hubert Ordained Bishop by Pope Sergius I” (1437-40) (9.1’’x6.1’’). During Hubert’s pilgrimage to Rome in 708, Bishop Lambert was assassinated in the Netherlands. Pope Sergius had a dream that Hubert was to be made the new Bishop of Maastricht. Hubert, dressed in white and seated at the center, is given the bishop’s mitre and crosier by the Pope.  Sergius is dressed in red robes and wears the Papal tiara. A bishop in green robes, several cardinals, and other members of the clergy witness the event, along with commoners who look on through the screen. Later, Hubert also became the Bishop of Liege.

Hubert died on May 30, 727 CE, and was canonized as St Hubertus in 743 CE. He is the patron saint of Liege and Saint-Lamberge in Belgium. He was buried in the Benedictine Abbey of Amdain, now St. Hubertus in Belgium.  His reputation as a healer was well-known. He was said to have performed many miracles, one curing rabies. Several military orders were named after him, beginning in 1416 and including the Fraternity of St Hubert Knights and the Order of the Golden Stag. The International Order of St Hubertus continues today. 

The brothers Wilhelm and Curt Mast developed in 1934 the popular digestive Jägermeister. The literal translation from German is “Master Hunter” or “Master of the Hunt.”  Curt Mast was a hunter. Composed of 56 herbs, the digestive was intended to settle stomach complaints and to be taken as an anti-inflammatory for cough, eczema, and other maladies. The logo, a stag with a Christian cross suspended between its antlers refers to the two saints Hubert and Eustace, both having seen the vision of the cross between a stag’s antlers. St Hubert is said to have initiated the idea of ethical hunting. Under the Jägermeister logo is a verse in German from the poem by Oskar von Riesenthal:

It is the hunter’s honor that he
Protects and preserves his game,
Hunts sportsmanlike, honors the
Creator in His creatures.

Note: Charles VIII was born and died in the Chateau d’Amboise, when he accidentally hit his head against a lintel in the Chateau. King Francis I (1494-1547), also raised in the Chateau, invited Leonardo da Vinci to come there. Da Vince lived in the Close Luce, that was connected to the Chateau by an underground passage. Da Vince in buries in St. Hubert’s Chapel.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

All Saints’ Day on November 1, honoring Christian saints and martyrs, was celebrated in the Eastern Church as early as the 4th Century. All Souls’ Day on November 2 was instituted in the 10th Century by St. Odilo of Cluny. It was a day of prayer for deceased family members in Purgatory awaiting entrance to heaven. These two days are celebrated in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. 

“All Souls’ Day (Day of the Dead)” (1859)

William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905), a leading French Academy painter during the reign of Napoleon III (1848-1870), painted “All Souls’ Day (Day of the Dead)” (1859) (58’’x41’’). The work was popular, and Bouguereau was commissioned to paint several versions of the subject. Two women dressed in the black of mourning have come to the cemetery to lay wreaths at the grave of their deceased relative. Bouguereau painted in the Neo-Classical style, considered to be the revival of Italian Renaissance art. The women are posed in the traditional triangular composition. Circular and half-circular shapes are repeated throughout the work: the women’s heads, the hair braid, the curved positions of their hands, the memorial wreaths, the design of the cross, and the curved outlines of their bodies. Viewers’ responses to Bouguereau’s depiction of realistic detail and communication of profound emotion increased his popularity in France.

“All Saints’ Day in New Orleans, Decorating the Tombs in One of the City Cemeteries” (1885)

“All Saints’ Day in New Orleans, Decorating the Tombs in One of the City Cemeteries” (1885) was drawn by American sketch artist and illustrator John Durkin (1868-1903). Durkin’s work appeared often in Harper’s Weekly during the 1880’s. He attended the 1885 New Orleans World Fair and illustrated several scenes. By the 19th Century, All Saints’ Day had become an enormous community celebration. Durkin depicts citizens of all classes and races coming to the cemetery, many to honor the dead, but others to enjoy the festivities. Families whitewashed the tombs and decorated them with wreaths, flowers, beads, prayer cards, and other mementos. They brought large picnics. Music, dancing, drinking, and sharing stories of loved ones were a part of the festivities. At the far right of the scene, two females are enjoying their holiday picnic. Durkin’s print omits one additional element: the thousands of lit candles placed around the tombs in the cemetery, even in daytime.

An 1843 article in the Times-Picayune described the event: “Repairing at rather a late hour to the Catholic Cemetery, we found a dense throng of people entering it, for which the gateway seemed vastly too confined, such were the numbers pressing in. Nor was there any distinction of colors, class, or nation. People of all hues and derivation, and of both sexes, were crowding for admittance; some to honor the departed, others to witness the singular observances.”

“Calavera de la Catrina” (1910)

In Mexico, All Souls’ Day (Dia de Los Muertos) is celebrated on November 1 and 2. The gates of heaven open at midnight on October 31, and families go to cemeteries to be with the spirits of their loved ones. The Day of the Dead is a combination of the ancient Aztec goddess Mictecacíhuatl (Lady of the Dead), who guards the bones of the dead, and All Souls’ Day, brought to Mexico in the 1500’s by the Spanish conquerors. “Calavera de la Catrina” (1910) (13.5’’x9’’) (zinc etching) is Mictecacíhuatl (renamed Catrina) by Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913). Calavera (skeleton) of Catrina wears a large hat decorated with flowers and feathers. It has become an iconic image for the Day of the Dead. 

“Scull from Oaxaca” (1903)

Posada’s depiction of the male skeleton became synonymous with The Day of the Dead. The male skeleton is depicted with skull and rib cage. It is dressed in the style of the 17th Century Mexican Charro. The Mexicans were first enslaved by the Spanish colonists, but later employed as cowboys to work on the haciendas. The Spaniards brought horses to Mexico, but only those natives who were employed were allowed to ride horses. The Charro outfit was developed because it was forbidden to dress like a Spaniard and perhaps to be mistaken as a member of the Spanish upper class. Charro was a derogatory term meaning crude, unsophisticated, and crass. In response, the riders developed a stylish black outfit decorated with white embroidery that included pants, jacket, vest, shirt, bow tie, belt, and a wide-brimmed Charro hat. These seven items were always included in a Charro outfit. For the Charro, the best horsemen in Mexico, the outfit became a symbol of chivalry, braveness, and pride.

“An Altar to Their Memory” (2019)

“An Altar in Their Memory” (2019) (7,000 square-feet) was constructed by internationally known Mexican artist Betsabee Romero (b. 1963). The work was commissioned by the Latino Arts Project for the Design District center in Dallas, Texas. It was the second exhibition of the Latino Arts Project. Romero’s art uses traditional Mexican elements and reinterprets them for the present day. Romero stated: “Day of the Dead is a celebration that has become very global, but with death, you are working with a concept that is very terrifying.  The altar becomes an experience. It’s something that you can walk inside and participate with…An altar is done as an offering. In this case, this installation is dedicated to all people who have passed away due to gun violence and to migrants who have passed because they were trying to get a better life crossing the border.” 

The traditional elements for the Day of the Dead altar are included. Romero provides a large gate lined with marigolds, the flower of dead, providing a path for the spirits to approach the altar. Yellow skulls decorated with flower designs, with holes where the pistil would be, line the rear of the gate.

‘’An Altar in Their Memory” (detail)

Traditional punched tissue paper (papel picado) hangings with black human targets at their centers are placed at the right and left sides of the gate. The punched holes represent bullet holes. The yellow paper cuttings surrounding the figures are skulls. The borders are colorful punched paper flowers. Lining the walls are strips composed of images from the Aztec Codex Borgia, the 16th Century manuscript depicting the calendar, gods and goddess, and rituals. 

“Ofrenda” (2019)

The installation “Ofrenda” (offering) is set up in another room of the exhibition. The four elements earth, wind, water, and fire are represented. The candles at the top of the altar represent fire. Wind is represented by the papel picado that blow in the wind. 

“Ofrenda” (detail)

Earth is represented by loaves of bread (pan de muerto), the aroma feeding the souls of the dead. Containers of water satisfy their thirst after the long journey. A container of salt is present for purification. The aroma of incense guides the souls. Sugar skulls form the pistils in the cut paper flowers. Skulls painted with fruit and flowers, paper marigolds, and papel picado skulls add to the colorful altar. 

In 2022, Romero created a Day of the Dead altar at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, London. Day of the Dead is celebrated with altars, parades, and cultural events in Los Angeles, New York, Spain, and elsewhere. 

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

If your birthday is in October, your birth flower is the marigold. This bright, gold to orange flower has been seen as a sign of the sun for centuries, and its significance has been recognized by numerous cultures and faiths. It is a symbol of joy, prosperity, purity, and the divine. It has often been used as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, and as a fabric dye and cosmetic. The name comes from the Middle Ages; “Mary’s Gold” was a reference to the Virgin Mary. Marigolds were used as offerings to Mary, instead of gold, by persons who could not afford real gold.

In ancient India, plaques from 300-100 BCE depict marigolds. The Hindu festival of Diwali celebrates the birth of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and good fortune, but the festival also celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.  “Diwali Festival’’ (17th Century) is a page from a Mughal Empire (1572-1858) manuscript. Although Indian manuscripts were small, between four and ten inches, the painters were able to create complex images in great detail. The Diwali Festival was the festival of light; fireworks were a major part of the celebration. The female figure at the bottom of the page holds two marigolds, and the fountain and water channels are lined with marigolds. 

Marigolds are hung in garlands on doorways and windows of houses, and they are placed at temples and statues of the Hindu gods and the Buddha. Indians seeking purification in the Ganges River are ringed by marigolds, because they believe purity of the soul can be achieved when one is surrounded by the flowers.

Marigolds are associated with Lord Vishnu and the Goddess Lakshimi, considered to be the ideal married couple. They are plentiful at weddings because of their golden color, cheerful appearance, and positive energy.

“African Marigold” (1876)

There are two major botanical branches of the marigold family: the African and the French. William Morris’s “African Marigold” (1876) (drawing for textile design) used small yellow marigolds interwoven with large lilies and ribbons of acanthus leaves. The design was first manufactured in silk. The “African Marigold” design was printed in several monochrome colors and as seen here in different colors This design caused a rift between Morris and his long-time manufacturer of textiles Thomas Wardle.  On February 8, 1881, Morris wrote to Wardle: “I am sorry to say that the last goods African marigold and red marigold sent are worse instead of better: they are in fact unsaleable; I should consider myself disgraced by offering them for sale: I labored hard on making good designs for these and on getting the color good; they are now so printed & colored that they are no better than caricatures of my careful work.” In 1881, Morris built his own factory at Merton Abbey and took over the entire process himself.

African marigolds are the most common form. They were brought to Europe and North Africa by traders in the late 16th Century from Mexico and Guatemala. The flowers grow taller and have larger heads, from two to four inches. In Mexico they play a significant part in the celebration of the Day of the Dead. The flowers are related to grief and death, but also the renewal of life, and are a life force. In 2023, The Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 2. 

“Marigolds and Tangerines” (1924)

Swiss artist Felix Vallotton (1865-1925) painted “Marigolds and Tangerines” (1924) (26’’x22’’) (National Gallery of Art, D.C.) the year before he died in Paris.  Many artists who survived the horrors of World War I (1914-1918) were forever changed. The Ministry of Fine Arts in France sent Vallotton and two other artists on a three-week tour of the front lines to record the destruction. Their work was presented to the French people in a major exhibition at the Musee du Luxembourg. After this experience, Vallotton concentrated on still lifes of flowers, fruits and vegetables, things that grow. Marigolds are mostly yellow and orange, and in “Marigolds and Tangerines,” Vallotton has chosen the orange French marigold. The tangerines, also bright orange, are symbols of balance, confidence, enjoyment of the moment, and good luck. Whether or not Vallotton knew this, he chose them for the brightness and pleasure he wanted to bring into his life. In these later works, he delighted in the play of light reflecting on the objects.  He wrote, “More than ever the object amuses me; the perfection of an egg; the moisture on a tomato; the striking (hammering) of a hydrangea flower; these are the problems for me to resolve.”

“Quetzalcoatl” (400-600 CE)

For those born between October 23 and November 21, the Native American totem animal is the snake. In Native American cultures, as in many cultures world-wide, the snake can represent either good or evil. For the Navaho, touching a snake would allow an evil spirit (‘chein-dee’) to enter the body. The Cherokee believe snakes have influence over nature, particularly rain and thunder. 

From the ancient culture of the Aztecs, the serpent Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent) brought rain and gave maze to the people. A combination of a rattlesnake of the earth and a bird of the sky, it was a powerful symbol. “Quetzalcoatl” (400-600 CE) (Oaxaca) (10.5’’) is one of the earliest depictions found in the city of Teotihuacan from the third until the eight centuries. This early figure wears a headdress of coiling snakes. The annual shedding of its skin links it to rebirth, and to immortality. Quetzalcoatl was the patron of priests because he was said to support and protect them. When the Aztec empire fell, Quetzalcoatl made a journey to the underworld and collected the bones of previous races of the earth and promised to return to allow a new civilization to emerge.

“Quetzalcoatl” (1956-57)

Images of Quetzalcoatl developed into a complex combination of symbols representing the wind, Venus, sunlight, the morning star, merchants, arts, crafts, knowledge, and learning. He also was depicted as a number of animals because he had the power of transformation. Recovering from cancer in Acapulco, the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera (1886-1957) created a series of murals that tell the life story of Quetzalcoatl. The final image is “Quetzalcoatl” (1956-57) (mosaic). Rivera dedicated his life and his art to his Mexican culture. Quetzalcoatl’s long serpent body consists of a large number of multi-colored feathers extending into a very long tail. His open mouth has large white teeth/fangs and a red forked tongue. A piercing arrow comes from his eye; he sees all and protects. Xoloitzcuintle, a pre-historic hairless dog, walks beside him. A frog, Rivera’s symbol for himself, sits at the lower right corner, holding a flower.

“Leviathan” (1908)

The use of snakes as symbols is visible in the oldest known civilizations. In Egypt, the uraeus cobra in the central element on the Pharoah’s crown, symbolizing the power over life and death given to him by the sun god Ra.  

In Judaism, the snake appears in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The snake is the devil who temps Eve, who then temps Adam, and thus they are expelled from the Garden. Moses’s staff turns into a snake as a sign of his power from God. The Book of Psalms 74:13-14, tells that God created Leviathan, a giant sea serpent who represents Israel’s enemies, and who only God can slay. Job and the Jews feared this monster, but God broke Leviathan’s head and body into pieces and gave the meat to the people. 

Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), who drew “Leviathan” (1908), was a leading book illustrator in England in the 19th Century. Although he did not depict Leviathan as the many-headed monster described in the Old Testament, he created an image of Leviathan that would scare anyone. The large eyes stare out of the exaggerated long face.  The mouth is open to show many fangs and teeth, and the long coiling body surges through the water. The viewer can witness the very creative imagination of Rackham. His decision to create a vertical composition and to let Leviathan’s body occupy all of it makes this drawing a powerful and frightening image.

“Snake Goddess” (1500 BCE)

In Crete (pre-Greek), women were not afraid of snakes. They had control over the snake and the powers it was thought to possess. Snakes represented fertility since they come from the earth. They shed their skin annually, representing transformation, the ability to change and adapt, and to be reborn. The “Snake Goddess” (1500 BCE) (carved ivory and gold) (11.5”) is among the many that can be found in the Palace of Knossos on the Island of Crete. Because the statues are small, delicately carved, and made of precious materials, they represent the power of the snake, and the snake is controlled by women.

The theme of women and snakes continued into Greek culture with Medusa, who had hair of snakes. If men looked at her, they turned to stone.  When Perseus killed Medusa looking at her with a mirror, Medusa’s snakes were given to the Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. She wore them on her breast plate as sign of her power, but also of her wisdom. Hundreds of paintings and sculptures of the goddess survive from the Greco-Roman through the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

“Buddha Protected by Naga Muchalinda” (c1150 CE)

In Buddhism and Hinduism, snakes are called Nagas, and they are a positive symbol. “Buddha Protected by Naga Muchalinda” (c1150 CE) (Cambodia) (sandstone) depicts an important episode in the life of Siddhartha, who would become the Buddha. While the young prince Siddhartha sat in the lotus position meditating under the Bodhi tree and searching for understanding, the demon Mara sent women to tempt him and demons from the sky to harm him. The King of the Nagas, Muchalinda formed a canopy from his body to protect Siddhartha. Muchalinda spreads his snake body with its seven heads over Siddhartha. The Cambodian artist has carved a pattern of leaves from the Bodhi tree between the heads of the snake. 

Fans of Harry Potter might recall that Voldemort had a very large cobra named Nagini.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.