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Pierre-Joseph Redouté is perhaps
the most popular botanical painter of all, thanks largely
to the 170 plates collected in the three volumes of Les Roses (1817-24).
Redouté (1759-1840) came from a family of many
generations of painters, and studied under the botanist Charles-Louis
L’Héritier de Brutelle, who persuaded him that the
best botanical illustrations were the result of an expert knowledge
of living things. For the last fifty years of his life Redouté served
as drawing master to the queens and princesses of France, from
Marie-Antoinette to Marie-Amelie. His drawings adorned a series
of lavishly illustrated books by leading French botanists which
covered a wide range of subjects from garden plants to forest trees
and succulents.
Roses, however, are the most familiar subject of his works, owing to the outstanding quality of his artistry and the devotion of so many gardeners to this group of shrubs. Among these enthusiasts was the Empress Josephine, whose garden at Malmaison contained over 200 varieties of roses, many of which Redouté painted for his book. Still grown today is a rose with fragrant, pinkish-white flowers called “Souvenir de la Malmaison,” which commemorates both Josephine’s garden and the West Indian island of Martinique where she was born. Not all the roses depicted in Les Roses came from Malmaison, however; Redouté and the author of the descriptive text, Claude-Antoine Thory, selected varieties from the national gardens at Paris, Sèvres, and Versailles and from the gardens of nurserymen and knowledgeable amateurs.
Redouté created the most memorable survey of the rose through his skill in representing the its infinite variety and his equal talent for capturing the subtleties of shape and color in both flowers and leaves – and often an impression of the way the whole bush grows as well. Les Roses remains a cornerstone in the study of the historical development of this favorite flower, as well as the unequaled peak of its artistic depiction. No flower painter has so linked his name and immortality with a single genus as has Redouté with the rose. This Octavo Edition reproduces the first of only five special copies issued in large folio format with the plates in a double sequence: uncolored (on tan paper) and colored (on white paper), from The Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection at the Library of Congress.
The original book imaged for this digital edition:
18 x 12 inches (458 x 305 mm)
Roses, however, are the most familiar subject of his works, owing to the outstanding quality of his artistry and the devotion of so many gardeners to this group of shrubs. Among these enthusiasts was the Empress Josephine, whose garden at Malmaison contained over 200 varieties of roses, many of which Redouté painted for his book. Still grown today is a rose with fragrant, pinkish-white flowers called “Souvenir de la Malmaison,” which commemorates both Josephine’s garden and the West Indian island of Martinique where she was born. Not all the roses depicted in Les Roses came from Malmaison, however; Redouté and the author of the descriptive text, Claude-Antoine Thory, selected varieties from the national gardens at Paris, Sèvres, and Versailles and from the gardens of nurserymen and knowledgeable amateurs.
Redouté created the most memorable survey of the rose through his skill in representing the its infinite variety and his equal talent for capturing the subtleties of shape and color in both flowers and leaves – and often an impression of the way the whole bush grows as well. Les Roses remains a cornerstone in the study of the historical development of this favorite flower, as well as the unequaled peak of its artistic depiction. No flower painter has so linked his name and immortality with a single genus as has Redouté with the rose. This Octavo Edition reproduces the first of only five special copies issued in large folio format with the plates in a double sequence: uncolored (on tan paper) and colored (on white paper), from The Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection at the Library of Congress.
The original book imaged for this digital edition:
18 x 12 inches (458 x 305 mm)
Entranced Empress
Although Redouté illustrated a wide range of botanical subjects, from garden plants to forest trees and succulents, in the course of his long career, roses remain the most familiar part of his works, thanks both to the outstanding quality of his artistry and the devotion of so many gardeners to this group of shrubs. The Empress Josephine was one of these enthusiasts, and her collection of over 200 roses was displayed at Malmaison (about 10 miles west of Paris, where part of her garden can still be visited). There she employed several botanists to catalogue and describe her plants, and RedoutØ became a member of this group. There is still a shrub called “Souvenir de la Malmaison” – a fragrant, pinkish-white flower, one of the shrub roses of the Bourbon group that commemorates both Josephine’s garden and the West Indian island of Martinique where she was born.
Although Redouté illustrated a wide range of botanical subjects, from garden plants to forest trees and succulents, in the course of his long career, roses remain the most familiar part of his works, thanks both to the outstanding quality of his artistry and the devotion of so many gardeners to this group of shrubs. The Empress Josephine was one of these enthusiasts, and her collection of over 200 roses was displayed at Malmaison (about 10 miles west of Paris, where part of her garden can still be visited). There she employed several botanists to catalogue and describe her plants, and RedoutØ became a member of this group. There is still a shrub called “Souvenir de la Malmaison” – a fragrant, pinkish-white flower, one of the shrub roses of the Bourbon group that commemorates both Josephine’s garden and the West Indian island of Martinique where she was born.
Thorny Thory
Though Redouté’s rose illustrations have been widely reproduced, the descriptive text written by his collaborator Claude-Antoine Thory (1759-1827) has never before been fully and authoritatively translated into English, doubtless at least in part on account of the difficulty of translating Latinate technical terms from a Romance language into a Germanic tongue. Thory was a member of several learned societies – though botany was his favorite pursuit – and his other books include works on freemasonry and a tiny monograph on gooseberries, published in 1829, that provides a great contrast to the massive volumes of Les Roses. Each plate has a matching text with a botanical description, an account of the variety’s various names, its history, any other relevant observations, and notes on its cultivation.
Though Redouté’s rose illustrations have been widely reproduced, the descriptive text written by his collaborator Claude-Antoine Thory (1759-1827) has never before been fully and authoritatively translated into English, doubtless at least in part on account of the difficulty of translating Latinate technical terms from a Romance language into a Germanic tongue. Thory was a member of several learned societies – though botany was his favorite pursuit – and his other books include works on freemasonry and a tiny monograph on gooseberries, published in 1829, that provides a great contrast to the massive volumes of Les Roses. Each plate has a matching text with a botanical description, an account of the variety’s various names, its history, any other relevant observations, and notes on its cultivation.
Redoutean Rarity
Owing to its size and elaborate technique of reproduction, Les Roses was a costly book from the very outset, and there were deluxe versions that were more costly still. In this copy, a larger size of paper enhanced the setting of the individual rose. An additional suite of uncolored plates on tan paper in turn enable the viewer to appreciate the engraver’s artistry without chromatic distraction. According to Redouté’s manuscript note on the half-title of the first volume of this set, “I have printed only five copies of my Roses on this paper and in this form with the plates in black and in color, of which this is number one.”
Owing to its size and elaborate technique of reproduction, Les Roses was a costly book from the very outset, and there were deluxe versions that were more costly still. In this copy, a larger size of paper enhanced the setting of the individual rose. An additional suite of uncolored plates on tan paper in turn enable the viewer to appreciate the engraver’s artistry without chromatic distraction. According to Redouté’s manuscript note on the half-title of the first volume of this set, “I have printed only five copies of my Roses on this paper and in this form with the plates in black and in color, of which this is number one.”
Copyright © 1998-2005 Octavo. All rights reserved.
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