Picturing Plants: An Analytical History of Botanical Illustrations
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.93 (885 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0520203062 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 160 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-06-30 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
One Star Not as many pictures as I imagined there to be.. Pretty pictures with idiotic PC commentary Harry Eagar At the simplest level, 'Picturing Plants' can be enjoyed simply as a pretty book, with 100 illustrations (many in excellent color) from the Victoria and Albert Museum, where Saunders is a curator.Saunders covers 500 years of botanical illustration, and her incisive comments would help sharpen any connoisseur's eye.Probing a level deeper, there is the evolution of intent, as well as of method. Early book illustrations were woodcuts, unsuited to capturing
But who drew plants, and why? How have these images reflected our changing relationship with the natural world? This beautifully illustrated book explores the purpose and function of the whole range of botanical art, from early woodcut herbals and painted florilegia, botanical treatises and records of new discoveries, to gardening manuals, seed catalogs, and field guides for the amateur enthusiast. She includes acknowledged masters such as Ehret and Redouté as well as lesser-known examples from China, Japan, and India.In addition to their intrinsic beauty, plant illustrations have mirrored the curious and fascinating relationship between art and science. The artist's challenge has been to reconcile the often conflicting demands of those disciplines within a single image. Picturing Plants captures both this complex cultural history and the distinctive loveliness of botanical illustration, bringing a fresh approach to a perennially fascinating subject.. Some of the most ravishing images in the history of illustration have been those of plants. Gill Saunders complements the sumptuous illustrations with detailed captions and an informative text, making this a book for both specialist and lay reader.Drawing on a rich archive of material in the Victori
"A fascinating inside look. The book is definitely worth reading, if only for the illustrations alone, but Saunders' text points out the subtleties of representation."--Anne M. Hancher, "Hort Science
Gill Saunders is a Curator in the Collection of Prints, Drawings, and Paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Her publications include The Nude: A New Perspective (1979) and Recording Britain (1990), as well as studies of botanical artists Georg Dionysus Ehret and William Kilburn.