The basic idea of this painting is the sun-energy. The centre of the sunflower has no pips but is a radiating ball where both butterflies ( small tortoiseshell and peacock) are touching this ball with their antennae. They are drinking the vital power out of the sun. One can imagine that the butterflies are planets turning around the sun which is meant to be their source of power. An indication to planet earth is to be noticed in the eyes of the peacock. On the stalk below you see a ball with two planets and antennae. The butterfly ‘atalanta’ is shown smaller and can be seen as a heavenly body at far distance or as a human being looking for political asylum on the radiating, economical western sun.
(Text (NL): Mrs. Mechteld de Bois, 1998)