REDOUTE, Pierre-Joseph (Belgian, 1759-1840).
Watercolor for plate 106: "Blue Plantain Lily", Hemerocallis Coerulea.
Watercolor and graphite on vellum.
Prepared for Les Liliacees ca. 1802-1816.
Completed: ca. 1802-1816.
18 5/8" x 13" sheet, 27 2/4" x 21 5/8" framed.

Country of Origin: East Asia (China). Apparently no longer considered as indigenous in Japan as often cited. Named for the Austrian medical doctor (personal physician of the Emperor) and botanist Nicolaus Thomas Host (1761-1834).

The "Raphael" of Flower Painters.

Pierre-Joseph Redoute is unquestionably the best-known botanical illustrator of any era. His work seems to demand the invention of lofty praise. A critic, writing of the 1804 Salon exhibition, noted that Redoute's "six paintings of flowers executed in watercolor for H. M. the empress ... are realistic and beautifully painted, ... perfectly imitating nature." He concluded, "The delicacy, exactitude, and elegance of the brushwork gives them great merit." Vivant Denon, Director of Museums under the Empire, stated that Redoute's gouaches were "masterpieces," and the artist was similarly described both as the "Rembrandt" and the "Raphael" of flowers by nineteenth-century writers. It is thus unsurprising that Redoute occupies a central position in the development of European floral art, contributing to both the artistry and scientific advancement of botanical study.