Botanical and Ornithological Art

Glossary

In the first half of the nineteenth century, there was considerable interest in natural history due to the expeditions of Nicholas Baudin, Captain Cook, Matthew Flinders, Lewis & Clark, Captain Wilkes, and others; the patronage of Napoleon; and the industrial and agricultural revolution. Lavishly illustrated and expensive natural history books appeared.

dr. robert john thornton- night-blowing cereus

walter hood fitch - rhododendron thomsoni

margaret mee - bromeliad Neoregelia margaretae

elizabeth gould - platycercus adelaidiae

ellis rowan - count raggi's bird of paradise

Botanical Art

From 1798-1837, Paris was the center in Europe for the illustration of plants. Under the generous patronage of Empress Josephine, Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) became the most famous of the French flower printers with over 2,100 published plates depicting over 1,800 different species. He was the first botanical artist to successfully use stipple engraving-etched dots on his copper plates, which closely mimicked the subtle gradations found in the original watercolors. Dr. Robert John Thornton's (1765-1832) "The Temple of Flora" (1797-1807 Elephant Folio, 1812 Lottery Ed.) is considered to be one of the most famous botanical color print folio of all time. This work was considered a great artistic achievement, but few of his plates are of scientific interest. Walter Hood Fitch (1817-1892) was the most prolific botanical artist of the Victorian era with over 10,000 published plates. The British botanical artist Marianne North (1830-1890) traveled alone to wild and remote areas, which was highly unusual for Victorian women. Ellis Rowan's (1848-1922) watercolors helped many European Australians see their country's flowers and birds in their native habitat for the first time. Leopold Blashka (1822-1895) and his son Rudolph (1857-1939) meticulously crafted unbelievably realistic botanical glass models of 830 plant species, which are housed at Harvard's Botanical Museum. Karl Blossfeldt's (1865-1932) photographs of sharply focused, magnified plant parts against a stark background in "Urformen der Kunst" (1928) revealed that nature isn't just purely functional, but creates its own art. His images influenced many architects and decorative artists in the 1920's. Other notable botanical artists include Ferdinand Bauer, Brigid Edwards, Paul Jones, Thalia Lincoln, Rory McEwen, Margaret Mee, Celia Rosser, Pandora Sellars, Margaret Stones, and Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst. For more information, take a look at American Society of Botanical Artists, Bibliography, Botanical Illustration, BotanicalArtists.com, Botanicals, Endeavor Botanical Illustrations, Forum, Hunt Institute, and PlantExplorers.

Ornithological Art

François Nicolas Martinet's (1731-1790?) hand-colored bird illustrations captured the proportions, habits, and postures of birds. His illustrations can be found in "Ornithologie" (=Histoire des Oiseaux, 1773-1792) and other influential natural history books of the 18th century. Prideaux John Selby (1788-1867) was the first to produce life-size illustrations of British birds. Previously, birds were small and stiff. Selby's depictions of birds in "Illustrations of British Ornithology" (1821-1834) were the most accurate and liveliest to date. Selby was also a superb copper engraver and utilized William Lizars of Edinburgh for the printing and hand coloring. John Gould (1804-1881) traveled all over the world producing over 3,200 lithographs in forty folio volumes. Gould would include dramatic backgrounds, brilliant colors, and natural habitats. Gould's "Birds of Australia" (1841-1848) is considered the greatest of his major works. In "A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Hummingbirds" (1849-1861), indigenous flowers were shown in each illustration. Gould gave his sketches to his wife Elizabeth and others who finished the illustrations, lithographed the stones, and hand-colored each print. John Audubon (1785-1851) was not the first person to paint and describe the birds of America, but certainly he was the most famous. Mark Catesby's (1682-1749) "Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas Islands" (1731-1743) was the first published work of America's flora and fauna. Alexander Wilson (1766-1813) had the distinction to be the first American bird artist with "American Ornithology". In "The Birds of America", Audubon depicted life-size birds in realistic and dramatic poses. During my high school years, I often visited Mill Grove in Audubon, PA, where Audubon spent two years of his life. Audubon had a profound influence on other natural history artists including William MacGillivray (1796-1851), who illustrated his books on the natural history of the British Isles with watercolors of birds, fish, and mammals. Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927) not only presented birds accurately, but also captured their natural and behavioral characteristics. His influence is seen in the works of recent bird artists like Roger Tory Peterson and David Allen Sibley. More information on ornithological art can be found at Arader Galleries, Beautiful Birds, Gould's Birds of Australia, JohnGould.com, Joel Oppenheimer, Inc., and Rare-Prints.com.