From the Painting Guide: The stark chiaroscuro quality in Amaryllis heightens the purity and geometrical symmetry of the flower. There's something reminiscent of a nun's wimple, of a heavily starched, black-and-white sculpted form. If you wanted to read religious symbolism into the painting, you could say the reds of the ends of the stamens are an indication of Christ's blood or stigmata. Or you could read sensual symbolism into it, reminiscent of that said to be found in Georgia O'Keefe's flower paintings.