Thursday, April 14, 2022

Florilegium

A florilegium is a book that gathers botanical art and other observations. 

Florilegia date back to the medieval period, and were popular through the 1700s, where they served as records of exotic, lavish, and beautiful flowers collected by wealthy individuals. 



Perroquet Rouge by Georg Dionysius Ehret

One of the great early botanical artists was Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770). He grew up in a botanically-oriented family and became friends with Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, who developed the modern nomenclature for plants and animals.

Rosa hemispherica by Georg Dionysius Ehret

An excellent book that covers the history, practice, and science of botanical art is Botany for the Artist by Sarah Simblet. Published by Dorling Kindersley, it covers most kinds of plants with clear drawings of various seed structures, flowers, and branching forms.


3 comments:

  1. Hey,James,I'm sorry if this is off subject ( this is Lynnwood). But I have a question if you have the time.I just got your Building a Sketch easel DVD!! If I made the panels big enough to hold,say,an 11x14 watercolor block and a corresponding sized pallette,do you think it would be too top-heavy?
    Wow that botanical book is beautiful....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lynwood, that should be OK. I’ve painted up to 12 x 16, which is OK on a camera tripod as long as it’s not too windy.

    ReplyDelete

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