A native of South America, the Passion Flower was named by the Spanish missionaries. The bloom is structurally symbolic of the Passion of Christ in many regards. The three stigmas represent the three nails at the cross as well as the Holy Trinity. The five anthers are for the five wounds. The ten petals symbolize the ten apostles who exhibited the most faith (Judas and Peter excluded). Finally, the tendrils are reminiscent of the whips that Jesus’ accucusers used to maim him. There are over four hundred varieties of the Passion Flower. Passiflora Quadrangularis, pictured here, is my favorite of the Passion Flowers. The deep purple stripes on the tendrils remind me of the stripes that Jesus suffered during the scourging. I particularly like the natural arrangement of the tangent complimentary colors. Yellow rests against purple, red against green. Our five year old son Elias commented on this painting, “But there’s no blue and orange!” He knows his complimentary colors! My five children are my most valuable critics! |
