Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Joseph Redouté was a Belgian
painter
and botanist, known for his watercolours of rose
s, lilies and other flowers at Malmaison
. He was nicknamed "The Raphael
of flowers".
He was an official court artist of Queen Marie Antoinette
, and he continued painting through the French Revolution
and Reign of Terror
. Redouté survived the turbulent political upheaval to gain international recognition for his precise renderings of plants, which remain as fresh in the early 21st century as when first painted.
Paris
was the cultural and scientific centre of Europe during an outstanding period in botanical illustration
(1798 – 1837), one noted for the publication of several folio books with coloured plates
. Enthusiastically, Redouté became an heir to the tradition of the Flemish
and Dutch
flower painters Brueghel
, Ruysch
, van Huysum
and de Heem. Redouté contributed over published plates depicting over different species
, many never rendered before.
, Luxembourg
; the town is now in Belgium
.
Although he was relatively lacking in formal education, both Redouté's father and grandfather were painters. He left home at the age of 13 to earn his living as an itinerant Belgian painter, doing interior decoration, portraits and religious commissions.
, and René Desfontaines, who steered him towards botanical illustration, a rapidly growing discipline.
In 1786 Redouté began work at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
cataloguing the collections of flora and fauna and participating in botanical expeditions, notably Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition. In 1787, he left to study plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
near London.
In 1788, Redouté returned to Paris. In 1792 he was employed by the French Academy of Sciences
. Cheveau, a Parisian dealer, brought the young artist to the attention of the Dutch
botanical artist Gerard van Spaendonck
at the Jardin du Roi, which became the Jardin des Plantes of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
in 1793, after the Revolution. Van Spaendonck became Redouté's teacher, L'Heritier his patron who taught him to dissect flowers and portray their diagnostic characteristics. L'Heritier also introduced Redouté to members of the court at Versailles
. Marie Antoinette became his patron. Redouté received the title of Draughtsman and Painter to the Queen's Cabinet.
In 1798, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais
, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, became his patron and, some years later, he was her official artist. In 1809, Redouté taught painting to Empress Marie-Louise of Austria.
in 1825. Although particularly renowned for his botanical exploration of roses and lilies, he thereafter produced paintings purely for aesthetic value including those of the celebrated Choix des plus belles Fleurs
Redouté was capable of overcoming successive political crises, without great struggle, and surviving under different political régimes. He collaborated with the greatest botanists of his day and participated in nearly fifty publications. Over his long career, Redouté painted the gardens at the Petite Trianon
of Marie Antoinette
as her official court artist. During the French Revolution and Reign of Terror, he was appointed to document gardens which became national property. However, during the patronage of the generous Empress Josephine, Redouté's career flourished and he produced his most sumptuous books portraying plants from places as distant as Japan, South Africa and Australia as well as Europe and America.
Jean Lechanteur wrote in :
He died on 19 or 20 June 1840 and was interred in Père Lachaise Cemetery
.
A Brussels
school bears his name: the Institut Redouté-Peiffer
in Anderlecht
.
Posthumously published, in 1989:
Demographics of Belgium
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Belgium, including ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and botanist, known for his watercolours of rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s, lilies and other flowers at Malmaison
Château de Malmaison
The Château de Malmaison is a country house in the city of Rueil-Malmaison about 12 km from Paris.It was formerly the residence of Joséphine de Beauharnais, and with the Tuileries, was from 1800 to 1802 the headquarters of the French government.-History:Joséphine de Beauharnais bought the...
. He was nicknamed "The Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
of flowers".
He was an official court artist of Queen Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, and he continued painting through the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
. Redouté survived the turbulent political upheaval to gain international recognition for his precise renderings of plants, which remain as fresh in the early 21st century as when first painted.
Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
was the cultural and scientific centre of Europe during an outstanding period in botanical illustration
Botanical illustration
Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, colour, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolour paintings. These are often printed with a botanical description in book, magazines, and other media...
(1798 – 1837), one noted for the publication of several folio books with coloured plates
Intaglio (printmaking)
Intaglio is a family of printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface, known as the matrix or plate, and the incised line or area holds the ink. Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or...
. Enthusiastically, Redouté became an heir to the tradition of the Flemish
Flemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
and Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
flower painters Brueghel
Jan Brueghel the Elder
Jan Brueghel the Elder was a Flemish painter, son of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and father of Jan Brueghel the Younger. Nicknamed "Velvet" Brueghel, "Flower" Brueghel, and "Paradise" Brueghel, of which the latter two were derived from his floral still lifes which were his favored subjects, while the...
, Ruysch
Rachel Ruysch
Rachel Ruysch was a Dutch artist who specialized in still-life paintings of flowers, one of only three significant women artists in Dutch Golden Age painting, of whom Maria van Oosterwijk was also a flower painter, and Judith Leyster mainly not .She was born in The...
, van Huysum
Jan van Huysum
Jan van Huysum, also spelled Huijsum, was a Dutch painter.-Biography:He was the brother of Jacob van Huysum, the son of the flower painter Justus van Huysum, and the grandson of Jan van Huysum I, who is said to have been expeditious in decorating doorways, screens and vases...
and de Heem. Redouté contributed over published plates depicting over different species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, many never rendered before.
Early life
Redouté was born in Saint-HubertSaint-Hubert, Belgium
Saint-Hubert is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg.On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 111.16 km², had 5,737 inhabitants, giving a population density of 51.6 inhabitants per square kilometre....
, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
; the town is now in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
Although he was relatively lacking in formal education, both Redouté's father and grandfather were painters. He left home at the age of 13 to earn his living as an itinerant Belgian painter, doing interior decoration, portraits and religious commissions.
Paris
In 1782 Redouté joined his elder brother, Antoine Ferdinand, an interior decorator and scenery designer in Paris. There he met the botanist and book lover Charles Louis L'Héritier de BrutelleCharles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle
Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle was an 18th century French botanist and magistrate. Born into an affluent upper-class Parisian family, connections with the French Royal Court secured him the position of Superindent of Parisian Waters and Forests at the age of twenty-six...
, and René Desfontaines, who steered him towards botanical illustration, a rapidly growing discipline.
In 1786 Redouté began work at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...
cataloguing the collections of flora and fauna and participating in botanical expeditions, notably Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition. In 1787, he left to study plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
near London.
In 1788, Redouté returned to Paris. In 1792 he was employed by the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
. Cheveau, a Parisian dealer, brought the young artist to the attention of the Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
botanical artist Gerard van Spaendonck
Gerard van Spaendonck
Gerard van Spaendonck was a Dutch painter.Gerard was born in Tilburg, an older brother of Cornelis van Spaendonck , who was also a renowned artist. In the 1760s he studied with decorative painter Willem Jacob Herreyns in Antwerp...
at the Jardin du Roi, which became the Jardin des Plantes of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
Muséum national d'histoire naturelle
The Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle is the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France.- History :The museum was formally founded on 10 June 1793, during the French Revolution...
in 1793, after the Revolution. Van Spaendonck became Redouté's teacher, L'Heritier his patron who taught him to dissect flowers and portray their diagnostic characteristics. L'Heritier also introduced Redouté to members of the court at Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
. Marie Antoinette became his patron. Redouté received the title of Draughtsman and Painter to the Queen's Cabinet.
In 1798, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...
, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, became his patron and, some years later, he was her official artist. In 1809, Redouté taught painting to Empress Marie-Louise of Austria.
Later career and legacy
After Josephine's death, Redouté's fortunes fell until he was appointed as a master of design for the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle in 1822. In 1824, he gave some drawing classes at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. He taught many female royal personages, mostly Belgian. He became a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
in 1825. Although particularly renowned for his botanical exploration of roses and lilies, he thereafter produced paintings purely for aesthetic value including those of the celebrated Choix des plus belles Fleurs
Redouté was capable of overcoming successive political crises, without great struggle, and surviving under different political régimes. He collaborated with the greatest botanists of his day and participated in nearly fifty publications. Over his long career, Redouté painted the gardens at the Petite Trianon
Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon is a small château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France.-Design and construction:...
of Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
as her official court artist. During the French Revolution and Reign of Terror, he was appointed to document gardens which became national property. However, during the patronage of the generous Empress Josephine, Redouté's career flourished and he produced his most sumptuous books portraying plants from places as distant as Japan, South Africa and Australia as well as Europe and America.
Jean Lechanteur wrote in :
He died on 19 or 20 June 1840 and was interred in Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
.
A Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
school bears his name: the Institut Redouté-Peiffer
Institut Redouté-Peiffer
The Institut Redouté-Peiffer is secondary technical and professional school in Anderlecht, in the Brussels Capital Region, Belgium. It is under the control of the French Community Commission , and was previously the provincial college of the Province of Brabant.It was created from the merger of the...
in Anderlecht
Anderlecht
Anderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region.There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.-Pronunciation:* Dutch: * French:...
.
Principal works
- Geraniologia,, ed. Petri-Francisci Didot (1787–88); http://num-scd-ulp.u-strasbg.fr:8080/83/
- Plantes grasses, 2 vols. (1790); http://num-scd-ulp.u-strasbg.fr:8080/23/ Online text
- Traité des arbres et arbustes que l'on cultive en France, par Duhamel. Nouvelle édition, avec des figures, d'après les dessins de P. J. Redouté, 7 vols. (1800–1819)
- Les Liliacées, 8 vols. (1802–1816); Taschen America (2000) ISBN 3-8228-6407-2; SCD, University of Strasbourg. (1802-1816) On line.
- Les Roses, 3 vols. (1817–1824); French & European Pubns (1954) ISBN 0-320-05904-9; Pierre-Joseph Redoute, Sandra Raphael (Narrator), Ian Jackson (Translator), CD-ROM Octavo (2002) ISBN 1-891788-28-0; NYPL On Line. or Rare Book Room (1817–1824 from Library of Congress) or Rare Book Room (1817 from The Warnock Library). Taschen has also published this as part of its 25th Anniversary series.
- Choix des plus belles fleurs et de quelques branches des plus beaux fruits. Dédié à LL. AA. RR. les princesses Louise et Marie d'Orléans (1827)
- Catalogue de 486 liliacées et de 168 roses peintes par P.-J. Redouté (1829)
- Alphabet Flore (1835)
Posthumously published, in 1989:
- Champignons du Luxembourg. Planches inédites de Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840). Manuscrit de Louis Marchand (1807–1843). Ministère d'Etat. Government commission for the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Independence of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg; Musée national d'histoire naturelle; Société des naturalistes luxembourgeois, 1989.