Pierre Jean François Turpin (1775-1840) was a French botanist and illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

. He is considered one of the greatest floral and botanical illustrators during the Napoleonic Era

Napoleonic Era

The Napoleonic Era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory...

 and afterwards. As an artist, Turpin was largely self-taught.

In 1794 Turpin was stationed in Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

 as a member of the French Army. Here he met botanist Pierre Antoine Poiteau

Pierre Antoine Poiteau

-Biography:He was born in Ambleny, France. After having worked in kitchen gardens and for the Parisian market gardeners, he was appointed by André Thouin garçon jardinier in 1790 at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle of Paris...

 (1766-1854), with whom he would have a working relationship throughout his career. Through Poiteau, Turpin learned botany

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

, and he created many botanical field drawings that became a basis of further study when the two men returned to France. Concerning their work in Haiti, they were able to describe around 800 species of plants.

Through his collaboration with Poiteau and other naturalist

Naturalist

Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...

s, Turpin created some of the finest watercolors and illustrations of plants that are known to exist. The following are some of the works in which Turpin contributed his illustrative work:

• He did much of the illustrated work in Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert
  Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert
  Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert was a French banker and naturalist.He was born at Lyon, the son of Étienne Delessert , the founder of the first fire insurance company and the first discount bank in France...
  
  's (1773-1847) Icones selectae plantarum.
• With Pierre Poiteau, he produced an updated version of Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau's (1700-1782) Traité des arbres fruitiers (Treatise of the Fruit Trees).
• Contributed the illustrative work for Alexander von Humboldt
  Alexander von Humboldt
  Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
  
   (1769-1859) and Aimé Bonpland
  Aimé Bonpland
  Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland was a French explorer and botanist.Bonpland's real name was Goujaud, and he was born in La Rochelle, a coastal city in France. After serving as a surgeon in the French army, and studying under J. N...
  
  's (1773-1858) Plantes Equinoxales (1808).
• Provided the illustrations to Jean Louis Marie Poiret
  Jean Louis Marie Poiret
  Jean Louis Marie Poiret was a French clergyman, botanist and explorer.From 1785 to 1786 he was sent by Louis XVI to Algeria to study the flora...
  
  's (1755-1834) Leçons de flore: Cours complet de botanique (1819-1820).