Gardens in perpetual bloom

About this book

Originally developed as an aid to professional herbalists, botanical illustration eventually blossomed into an art in its own right. The first flower books were medicinal guides, or else illustrated volumes documenting the gardens of the well-to-do. When Carl Linnaeus classified the plant kingdom in 1735, the botanical book took on a more scientific cast. By the nineteenth century, the flourishing of botanical publications reflected both the rise of gardening as an amateur hobby and the desire of artists and decorators for new visual resources. Gardens in Perpetual Bloom traces the appreciation of flowers and their depiction, from the studious world o f monks and princes to the era of the gardening enthusiast. The book's ninety three prints and drawings - including masterful engravings after Georg Dionysus Ehret, the eighteenth century's most accomplished botanical artist; and exquisite color-printed stipple engravings after Pierre-Joseph Redoute, the premier draftsman of flowers for Marie Antoinette and Josephine Bonaparte - are remarkable for their technical virtuosity, subtle tonalities, scientific accuracy, and infinite variety.