Botanical Illustration

Posted by Suzanne Hill Jan 6, 2007

Botanical illustrators sketch and paint botanical subjects like trees and flowers, often preferring to work in colored pencil and watercolor. The job requires great artistic skill, attention to fine detail, and technical botanical knowledge. Similarly, Flemish illuminated manuscripts featured fruits, flowers, and plants in exquisite naturalistic detail. The greatest botanical illustrator in history is Pierre-Joseph Redouté, who produced his most magnificent works in the 19th century when Empress Josephine Bonaparte hired him to paint her unparalleled collection of flowers in the gardens of Chateau Malmaison.

At its height in the 18th and early 19th centuries, botanical illustration seemed to since fall into obscurity. Lately, however, it is undergoing a renaissance of sorts. Today the interest seems to be capturing on paper certain rare or endangered botanical specimens before they become extinct. I was very excited to see that lessons in botanical art are being offered practically in my own backyard. The McGrillis Gardens, part of the Brookside Gardens park in Bethesda, Maryland, is offering art lessons in drawing and painting flowers and plants. They even offer a certificate for those who complete a specific progression of classes under the direction of world-renowned botanical artist, Margaret Saul. Take a look at her flower paintings – they are stunning.