Botanical Art has an intrinsic relationship with botany, the tradition of Botanical art, with its meticulous detail has long been practiced by artists and novices the world over. For many botanical artists, the illustration goes beyond its scientific requirements, becoming something of a glorious fusing between the scientific study of nature and art.
The greatest flower artists have been those who have found beauty in truth; who have understood plants scientifically, but who have yet seen and described them with the eye and the hand of the artist. [1]
Timeline
Botanical Art – antiquity to voguish
Prior to Christianity plants were considered gifts of the Gods by early peoples, thus were primarily associated with ritual and religion. The earliest portrayals of plants and trees were found in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Dating back to 5000BC, these civilisations were highly developed agricultural societies and included images of plants and other motifs on the walls of their temples and tombs.
Pre-Enlightenment
Enlightenment
Now...
This period pioneered the development of scientific botany and introduced a shift in botanical research from herbal gardens, dedicated to medicinal plants, to wide-ranging botanic gardens. For the first time, the study of botany became its own scientific discipline, separate from the study of medicine. Cataloguing flora coincided with the growth of nationalism and became a popular expression of national pride. Botanical artists were coming to the tradition more from art training and a lay interest in plants and the environment than from science. Botanical illustrations history demonstrates participants interest in the art form is aligned with their response to plants, which was consistently high in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The practice of botanical illustration continues to flourish. Examples of botanical art in popular culture can be seen in the plethora of interior design and home decoration magazines and broadcast renovation shows that showcase homes with collections of botanical art examples adorning walls and home wares. Botanical art is displayed on greeting cards, cushion covers, Jewellery, phone covers to framed artworks. Botanical art can be purchased and admired on just about any printable medium and online.
Hundreds of botanical exhibitions are held world-wide by various art groups, museums and botanic gardens to showcase artist’s works, from amateurs to the highly skilled botanical illustrator. Botanical gardens and museums use these events to draw attention to their establishments and further develop people’s understanding of plants in their conservation and management efforts.
The revival of botanical illustration can be attributed to the increased popularity of gardening and a renewed interest in nature. As we face of an increasingly technological culture a growing sense of needing to return to basics appears to have taken hold as we seek a renewed connection with the natural world. It is this renewed interest that the Efflorescence Project aims to leverage.
[1] (Blunt, stern, 2015).