100 FLORAL SYMBOLISM 



the verse, ' As a lily among thorns, so is my 

 love among the daughters ; ' ' but in spite of 

 the thorns the general significance of these 

 roses also is joy and deUght. 



In the Netherlands, where theologians occu- 

 pied themselves less with this second chapter 

 of the Song of Solomon, Madonnas set en plein 

 air are scarcely found. The van Eycks and 

 Memhng inaugurated the fashion of arranging 

 their devotional groups in chapel-like niches, 

 or in the aisle of some large church. Any garden 

 there is is seen in glimpses between pillars 

 or through windows, and has no mystical 

 meaning. 



In the work of Botticelli and his school we 

 again see enclosed gardens of roses, but these 

 are rather gardens of adoration, for in the centre 

 the Virgin kneels before the divine Infant. As 

 in all Adorations the symbolism refers to the 

 Child, and these roses symbolize the Divine 

 Love which sent Him to this earth, and are not 

 the attributes of Mary or an indication of the 

 joy in Heaven. A true hortus conclusus of 

 Itahan origin is that of Stefano da Zevio or da 



' The Song of Solomon ii. 2. 



I 



