The Art of Botanical Illustration

This book provides a survey of the best botanical illustrations, world-wide, from the 17th-century woodcut to the aquatint and four-colour plate. Botanical illustration is a blend of scientific accuracy and artistic accomplishment, and this book contains varied examples of such work. It includes illustrations by the famous plant hunters who explored the flora of Africa, South America and the Orient. There are images from periodicals, limited editions and seed catalogues, as well as technical works. Examples of pre-Linnaean, highly decorative attempts to codify the plant world are presented, and those post-1735, with the new emphasis on scientifically accurate delineation of flower, fruit, leaf and stalk. The prints and engravings of the best illustrators are represented - Dr John Hill, James Sowerby, Redoute, Ehret and many more from the 18th and 19th centuries.