Botanical illustration is a special form of art created to record, cite and transfer scientific data about plant species. Before the invention of photography, botanical painting was the only way of recording plants serving as a valuable visual reference for taxonomists. Minute plants or other botanical specimens only visible under a microscope were often identified through illustrations.
As the 17th century naturalist John Ray quotes: “A history of plants without images is like a geography book without maps”. Numerous representations of plants and herbs ornate medieval and renaissance manuscripts as well as printed books with relevant content. The most ancient illustrated manuscript of flora that has survived to the present day is Codex Vindobonensis (Juliana Anicia Codex) of about 512 AD, kept in the Austrian National Library, which includes the treatise De Materia Medica by Dioscurides (60-78 AD).
Illustrations were made through a variety of means: drawings, prints, watercolors, oil paintings or combinations of the above. The image may be life-size or not, though at times a scale is shown, and may show the life cycle, the habitat of the plant and its neighbors, the sides of the leaves, the details of flowers, bud, seed and root system, fruits and insects attracted by the plant.
The items of this Thematic Exhibition offer a short journey in the history of botanical illustration while reminding us of the necessity of preserving the rich biodiversity of our planet.
The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
