The Court of Lilacs, The Studio of Roses, The Garden at Réveillon: Madeleine Lemaire's Empire of Flowers

This essay considers artist andsalonnière Madeleine Lemaire, often dismissed as a “mere” flower painter playing a minor role in the Proust pantheon. The author argues instead that the floral empire Lemaire built across both literal and literary spaces can instead be interpreted positively as symbolic of queer transformation.