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| Perennial Favorites |
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Redouté, considered the Raphael of botanical illustration, created Rosa Indica Subviolacea (13 1/2 by 10 inches) for his florilegium Les Roses (1817–24).
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Maria Sibylla Merian explored Surinam's entomology and botany in prints such as Orange & Moth (plate LII, 16 by 11 inches) for her Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium.
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But a little background information can inspire a
greater depth of passion for these prints, whatever their origin. Before
the microscope was perfected, before cell structure was understood, people
were bewitched by the boldness and rarity of flowers, especially those from
faraway lands. Expanding empires and scientific enthusiasm led collectors
to seek the plants as status symbols, and demand burgeoned.
The first formal botanical garden was founded in Pisa
in 1543. England created the Oxford Botanic Garden in 1621, and in 1626,
Louis XIII established the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. The desire to
explore medicinal properties, make scientific advancements, and experiment
with foreign varieties led the charge. In 1735, Swedish naturalist Carolus
Linnaeus developed a system for classifying living things, bringing order
to the haphazard and imprecise business of naming organisms. Devotees could
finally agree on what they were looking at. The field exploded in
popularity. The rush was on to identify the hundreds of thousands
of species of plants. Documenting what they saw, artists strove to combine
the best of science and art. Periodicals sprung up to convey the latest
information. The most successful, William Curtis' Botanical Magazine,
now published as Kew from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, began
in 1787. Complete with fashions, trends, and recent discoveries, the
magazine featured hand-colored engravings that are highly in demand today.
Books of prints, called florilegia, portrayed
specific plants or gardens. In the early 1800s, Redouté published
Les Liliacées and Les Roses for Empress Josephine of Malmaison, and
Robert Thornton completed the Temple of Flora as a tribute to Linnaeus.
Later, Victorian artists began to supply amateur artists with instruction
books.
Botanical prints have never waned in popularity --
artists today are once again tackling the subject -- but the heyday of
botanicals will always be the early days of the art's pioneers.
| COLLECTING PRINTS |
| Go for petal power. Look for colorful prints that please the eye. Roses and tulips are especially popular. "Brighter, more attractive prints always sell for more," says Christopher W. Lane of the Philadelphia Print Shop. Quality is also important. "The market is driven by appearance -- you don't want any spots, big tears, stains, or faded color," he says. |
| Consider the color factor. Some prints, such as those by Basilius Besler, originated without color. "Usually they have new color," says Lane. "But whether or not it's new, the color has to be appropriate to the period," he says. "If you are interested in the science of it, you probably ought to get them uncolored. But every Besler I've had has new color, and if it's done appropriately it's fine." |
| Don't be fooled by reproductions. "Learn how to recognize the paper of the period and know the people who are selling the prints," Lane advises. |
| Understand the name game. Just because a print is known by a particular name doesn't mean that person executed it. One person may have created the drawing, another engraved the plate, and yet another provided the hand-coloring. Prints known as Thorntons, for example, are attributed to Robert Thornton, though he only provided one plate. |
| Beware before you tear. "If there is one thing a librarian or curator would have a fit over, it's damaging books that are intact and in good shape," says collector Jack Kramer of Naples, Florida, who finds prints at auctions, rare-book dealers, and secondhand furniture shops. But if a book is already damaged, he says, removing pages is acceptable. |
RESOURCES: Images courtesy of Philadelphia Print
Shop, 215/242-4750, philaprintshop.com.
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