Botanical illustration

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American Turk's cap Lily, Lilium superbum, Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-70), About 1750-53, Watercolor and gouache on vellum V&A Museum no. D.589-1886 Botanical illustration of Lilium superbum.jpg
American Turk's cap Lily, Lilium superbum , Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-70), About 1750–53, Watercolor and gouache on vellum V&A Museum no. D.589-1886
Banksia coccinea from Ferdinand Bauer's 1813 work Illustrationes Florae Novae Hollandiae Banksia coccinea (Illustrationes Florae Novae Hollandiae plate 3).jpg
Banksia coccinea from Ferdinand Bauer's 1813 work Illustrationes Florae Novae Hollandiae

Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species. They are generally meant to be scientifically descriptive about subjects depicted and are often found printed alongside a botanical description in books, magazines, and other media. Some are sold as artworks. [2] Often composed by a botanical illustrator in consultation with a scientific author, their creation requires an understanding of plant morphology and access to specimens and references.

Contents

Many illustrations are in watercolour, but may also be in oils, ink, [3] or pencil, or a combination of these and other media. The image may be life-size or not, though at times a scale is shown, and may show the life cycle and/or habitat of the plant and its neighbors, the upper and reverse sides of leaves, and details of flowers, bud, seed and root system.

The fragility of dried or otherwise preserved specimens, and restrictions or impracticalities of transport, saw illustrations used as valuable visual references for taxonomists. In particular, minute plants or other botanical specimens only visible under a microscope were often identified through illustrations. To that end, botanical illustrations used to be generally accepted as types for attribution of a botanical name to a taxon. [4] However, current guidelines state that on or after 1 January 2007, the type must be a specimen 'except where there are technical difficulties of specimen preservation or if it is impossible to preserve a specimen that would show the features attributed to the taxon by the author of the name.' (Arts 40.4 and 40.5 of the Shenzen Code, 2018). [5]

History

Blackberry. Vienna Dioscurides, early sixth century ViennaDioscoridesPlant.jpg
Blackberry. Vienna Dioscurides , early sixth century
Tuft of Cowslips (1526) by Albrecht Durer, gouache on vellum, collection of the National Gallery of Art Albrecht Durer, Tuft of Cowslips, 1526, NGA 74162.jpg
Tuft of Cowslips (1526) by Albrecht Dürer, gouache on vellum, collection of the National Gallery of Art
Electrotype - 'nature printing' by Alois Auer (1853) Electrotype- Alois Auer.jpg
Electrotype - 'nature printing' by Alois Auer (1853)
East Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), Gouache on oriental paper, late 19th century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. British 19th Century, East Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), late 19th century, NGA 52325.jpg
East Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), Gouache on oriental paper, late 19th century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Early herbals and pharmacopoeia of many cultures include illustrations of plants. Botanical illustrations in such texts were often created to assist with identification of a specie for some medicinal purpose. The earliest surviving illustrated botanical work is the Codex vindobonensis. It is a copy [6] of Dioscorides's De Materia Medica , and was made in the year 512 for Juliana Anicia, daughter of the former Western Roman Emperor Olybrius. [7] The problem of accurately describing plants between regions and languages, before the introduction of taxonomy, was potentially hazardous to medicinal preparations. [8] The low quality of printing of early works sometimes presents difficulties in identifying the species depicted. [9] [10]

When botanical nomenclature began to be systematized and texts on taxonomic classifications were regularly published by scientific organizations and academic institutions, botanical illustrations became common requirements for popular usability and referential quality of these texts. New printing processes in the 18th century and on allowed artists such as Franz and Ferdinand Bauer to depict minute aspects and render more accurate color portrayals of subjects. Widening interest in natural history and horticulture stimulated production of many floras and other publications on natural sciences. [11] Amateur botanists, gardeners, and natural historians provided a market for botanical publications and illustrations increased the appeal and accessibility of these to the general reader. Exploded details accompanied text and highlighted specific features of subjects described, allowing lay-audiences to more easily identify species.

Botanical illustration is a feature of many notable books on plants, of which a few include Vienna Dioscurides, Flora Graeca , The Banksias , and The Cactaceae . Curtis's Botanical Magazine (1787), a 230-year-old magazine long-associated with the Linnaean Society and Kew Gardens, is now primarily one of finer botanical illustration.

Field guides, floras, catalogues and magazines produced since the introduction of photography to print material have continued to include illustrations. A compromise of accuracy and idealized images from several specimens can be easily (re)produced by skilled artists. Illustrations are also at times just preferred for some print/digital audiences or text formats.

The contributions of botanical illustrators continue to be praised and sought and very fine examples continue to be produced. In the 1980s, Celia Rosser undertook to illustrate every Banksia species for the masterwork, The Banksias . When another species was described after its publication, Banksia rosserae , it was named to honour her mammoth accomplishment. Other illustrators, such as the prolific Matilda Smith, have been specifically honoured for this work. In 1972, the Smithsonian Institution hired its first botanical illustrator, Alice Tangerini. [12]

Recently, [13] a renaissance has been occurring in botanical art and illustration. Organizations devoted to furthering the art form are found in the US (American Society of Botanical Artists), UK (Society of Botanical Artists), Australia (Botanical Art Society of Australia), and South Africa (Botanical Artists Association of South Africa), among others. There is an increasing interest in the changes occurring in the natural world and in the central role plants play in maintaining healthy ecosystems. A sense of urgency has developed in documenting today's plant life for future generations. Original botanical illustrations rendered in traditional media (with which art conservators are more familiar) can and might serve as reference research materials for endangered species.

Notable botanical illustrators

Notable botanical illustrators include:

Awards

The Linnean Society of London awards the Jill Smythies Award for botanical illustration. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. Solander was the first university-educated scientist to set foot on Australian soil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian National Botanic Gardens</span> Botanical garden in Acton, Canberra

The Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) is a heritage-listed botanical garden located in Acton, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1949, the Gardens is administered by the Australian Government's Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. The botanic gardens was added to the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Parkinson</span> Scottish botanical illustrator and natural history artist

Sydney Parkinson was a Scottish botanical illustrator and natural history artist. He was the first European artist to visit Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. Parkinson was the first Quaker to visit New Zealand. The standard author abbreviation Parkinson is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferdinand Bauer</span> Austrian botanical illustrator

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<i>Banksia coccinea</i> Species of shrub or small tree

Banksia coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet banksia, waratah banksia or Albany banksia, is an erect shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. Its distribution in the wild is along the south west coast of Western Australia, from Denmark to the Stokes National Park, and north to the Stirling Range, growing on white or grey sand in shrubland, heath or open woodland. Reaching up to 8 m (26 ft) in height, it is a single-stemmed plant that has oblong leaves, which are 3–9 cm (1.2–3.5 in) long and 2–7 cm (0.8–2.8 in) wide. The prominent red and white flower spikes appear mainly in the spring. As they age they develop small follicles that store seeds until opened by fire. Though widely occurring, it is highly sensitive to dieback and large populations of plants have succumbed to the disease.

<i>Curtiss Botanical Magazine</i> Scientific journal

The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name Curtis's Botanical Magazine.

<i>Banksia robur</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae from the east coast of Australia

Banksia robur, commonly known as swamp banksia, or less commonly broad-leaved banksia, grows in sand or peaty sand in coastal areas from Cooktown in north Queensland to the Illawarra region on the New South Wales south coast. It is often found in areas which are seasonally inundated.

<i>Banksia verticillata</i> Shrub of southwest Western Australia

Banksia verticillata, commonly known as granite banksia or Albany banksia, is a species of shrub or (rarely) tree of the genus Banksia in the family Proteaceae. It is native to the southwest of Western Australia and can reach up to 3 m (10 ft) in height. It can grow taller to 5 m (16 ft) in sheltered areas, and much smaller in more exposed areas. This species has elliptic green leaves and large, bright golden yellow inflorescences or flower spikes, appearing in summer and autumn. The New Holland honeyeater is the most prominent pollinator, although several other species of honeyeater, as well as bees, visit the flower spikes.

<i>Banksia victoriae</i> Species of shrub or tree in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia

Banksia victoriae, commonly known as Woolly Orange Banksia, is a species of large shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in Western Australia between Northampton, Western Australia and Kalbarri, with the occasional plant further north as far as Zuytdorp Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celia Rosser</span> Australian artist (born 1930)

Celia Elizabeth Rosser is an Australian botanical illustrator, best known for having published The Banksias, a three-volume series of monographs containing watercolour paintings of every Banksia species.

In medieval Latin, a florilegium was a compilation of excerpts or sententia from other writings and is an offshoot of the commonplacing tradition. The word is from the Latin flos (flower) and legere : literally a gathering of flowers, or collection of fine extracts from the body of a larger work. It was adapted from the Greek anthologia (ἀνθολογία) "anthology", with the same etymological meaning.

<i>Banks Florilegium</i>

Banks' Florilegium is a collection of copperplate engravings of plants collected by Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander while they accompanied Captain James Cook on his first voyage around the world between 1768 and 1771. They collected plants in Madeira, Brazil, Tierra del Fuego, the Society Islands, New Zealand, Australia and Java. During this voyage, Banks and Solander collected nearly 30,000 dried specimens, eventually leading to the description of 110 new genera and 1300 new species, which increased the known flora of the world by 25 per cent.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Bauer</span> Austrian microscopist and botanical artist (1758–1840)

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<i>Flora Graeca</i>

Flora Graeca is a publication of the plants of Greece in the late 18th century, resulting from a survey by John Sibthorp and Ferdinand Bauer. The botanical descriptions and illustrations became highly valued by the English audience; the finely crafted and illustrated work was of both scientific and horticultural interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matilda Smith</span> British botanical illustrator

Matilda Smith (1854–1926) was a botanical artist whose work appeared in Curtis's Botanical Magazine for over forty years. She became the first artist to depict New Zealand's flora in depth, the first official artist of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and the second woman to become an associate of the Linnaean Society. The standard author abbreviation M.Sm. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

Philippa Mary Nikulinsky is an artist and botanical illustrator based in Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lhotsky</span>

John Lhotsky (1795–1866) was a Galicia-born Austrian naturalist, lecturer, artist and author. He wrote and published on the topics of zoology, botany, geology, geography and politics. Lhotsky was active in the early colonies of New South Wales and Tasmania from 1832 until 1838. During his sojourn in Australia, Lhotsky described himself, and was known as, Polish.

Alice R. Tangerini is an American botanical illustrator. In 1972, Tangerini was hired as a staff illustrator for the Department of Botany at the National Museum of Natural History by American botanist Lyman Bradford Smith. Prior to working at the Smithsonian Institution, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University. As of March 9, 2017, Tangerini remains the only botanical illustrator ever hired by the Smithsonian.

References

  1. "American Turk's cap Lily". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 2007-12-12.
  2. Sydney Living Museums (2016-07-13), The art in the illustration, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2016-07-29
  3. Schaap, Robert; Tsukioka, Kōgyo; Rimer, J. Thomas; Kerlen, H. (2010), The beauty of silence : Japanese Nō and nature prints by Tsukioka Kōgyo, 1869-1927, Hotei Publishing, ISBN   978-90-04-19385-7
  4. Citation needed.
  5. "International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants". International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) . Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  6. ...if the "Codex vindobonensis" is a copy of this text, can the earlier line be omitted or edited for accuracy?
  7. "Kew Gardens website".
  8. Citation needed - examples? Perhaps previous writer/editor means "before the introduction of [genetic methods of tracing/describing/framing/etc.] taxonomy"? Taxonomy as a practice of simply classifying/naming organisms is something humans have been doing for a long time, so saying "before the introduction of taxonomy" is not very clear.
  9. ...by modern scholars of early works? When is "early?"
  10. Elliott, B. (2011). The world of the Renaissance herbal. Renaissance Studies, 25(1), 24–41. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24420235
  11. Citation needed - any articles on trends in scientific publishing in 18th/19th century?
  12. Corson, Cheryl (March 9, 2017). "Botanical Illustrator Alice Tangerini". Hill Rag . Capital Community News Inc. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  13. Since when?
  14. "Linnean Society Medals, Awards, Prizes and Grants" . Retrieved 16 October 2021.

Further reading