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The Golden Age of Botanical Art (Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew) brings together the stories of the intrepid explorers – some of whom became botanical artists by default – and the many professional artists who recorded the flora that they discovered on their travels and expeditions.
From some of the earliest attempts at art to the plant hunters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the images produced in the study of plants have held a fascination for all those who love nature. Truly global in its scope, this beautifully illustrated book moves across centuries and continents looking at the artistry of China and India, delving into the sketchbooks of explorers in the Himalayas and following the voyages of those who discovered new worlds and new species as far apart as Russia and South America.
Alongside special features on key figures in the botanical art world, Kew: Golden Age of Botanical Art highlights the work of some of the great names of botanical art, including Ehret and Bauer. Included within is a host of rarely published and previously unpublished images from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, as well as an outline on how what might have been a pastime for some also made a significant contribution to our understanding of the world and the glories of nature.
- The Origins of Botanical Art
- Early Printed Books
- The Florilegia
- The 17th and 18th Centuries
- Botanical Travels to North America
- Russian Travellers Across Asia
- The Golden Age in England
- Travels to Greece and Turkey
- The Spanish Colonies in South America
- The Golden Age in France
- Curtis's Botanical Magazine
- The East India Company
- China
- The Hookers at Kew
- French Missionaries in the Far East
- Victorian Lady Travellers
- Painting Plants in Western China
- The Beginning of the 20th Century
- The Legacy of Botanical Art. Plus special features on Leonardo da Vinci, Jacopo Ligozzi
- The Velins of France, Maria Sybilla Merian, Linnaeus and Ehret, Joseph Banks, Josephone Bonaparte, Henry Elwes, George Maw and others
Martyn Rix is a botanist and the Editor of Curtis's Botanical Magazine, and as such has an unrivalled knowledge of botanical art. With a PhD in Botany from the University of Cambridge, he has worked at the University Botanic Garden in Zurich and at the RHS Garden, Wisley and has made many expeditions to different parts of the world, to collect new plants for gardens. He is the author or co-author of a number of books, including the highly acclaimed The Botanical Garden.
