The Enduring Appeal of Botanical Studies – And how Designers are using Them Right now
Designers can’t get enough of flora illustrations—in or out of the frame
Before there was photography, botanists—or anyone wishing to document flora—created detailed illustrations, known as botanical studies, intended to convey the plant’s physical appearance and other qualities. The specimen was typically rendered against a white backdrop with other relevant elements shown in detail around it—a close up of a leaf, a seed pod, or a stamen, for example. Many such pictures were created for research purposes, serving as documents of newly discovered or existing species that could be studied by naturalists. But others, realized in a similar style, were created with a more aesthetic intention. The famous Belgian botanist Pierre-Joseph Redoute, for example, was the official court artist of Marie Antoinette, and later, the plant painter of Joséphine Bonaparte, empress of France and wife to Napoleon. His depictions of flora covered the walls of their illustrious homes.
