It is commonly held that the work done by Louis Gardelle in his book L’Hexenphragma is the inspiration for the modern lotre. It seems he may have been inspired by the lotre paintings oflees in the British Museum. But it is doubtful whether he utilised this as a model. One has to wonder whether the inspiration was closer and more direct. The work of Vitruvius, on the other hand, is easily identifiable.
A lotre is a type of wall mounted painting usually hung from the ceiling. It was first used in ancient Egypt. It was probably inspired by Greek mythology, when the hero, Heracles, was said to have trained his men to fight by displaying a skill in fighting with lotuses. In the same way, Vitruvius may have based himself on Greek Mythology when he based his painting of the Roman goddess, Venus. Venus is often represented holding a lotus flower. This could very well have inspired the Vitruvius painting.
When I was little, I used to go on my mother’s motorcycle and we would stop at all the places where there were lotus blossom plants. We would sit there and admire them for hours. To this day, when I see a lotus flower, it inspires me to have that same faith and enthusiasm in myself. The same could be said about the way a lotus flower begins to bloom. It starts out small and perfect, but grows into an impressive bloom that makes you stop in your tracks and just take notice of it.
To understand the lotus flower, one must have a bit of faith. If you believe in something, then chances are, you will manifest it in your life. If you don’t, then maybe you are not very religious. Either way, it is a great flower to have.