The Mystic Flower is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, created c. 1890.

A religious work, it was inspired by Carpaccio's Apotheosis of Saint Ursula, which Moreau was able to copy during his stay in Venice.

At 2.53 metres tall, this original work closed Moreau's Cycle of Man by showing the importance of sacrifice by heroic figures.

[1] He thus began editing the accounts of his works and creating canvases on a museum format such as The Mystic Flower.

From this mound springs an immense lily at the top of which sits a representation of the Church with entirely Byzantine hieraticism, which can be assimilated to the Virgin Mary, holding a cross which the celestial bird comes to visit.

The Mystical Flower shares these three characteristics: the female figure is at the top of a pyramidal structure, disproportionately large and alone facing the multitude; consequently, she is no longer a protective Virgin.

[10] This composition was inspired by Vittore Carpaccio's Apotheosis of Saint Ursula, which Moreau had the opportunity to copy during his stay in Venice in the fall of 1858, while he was studying the work of this painter in depth.

As for the rocky landscape, it is inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, whose work Moreau had studied at length, notably the Virgin of the Rocks.