Botanical illustration
An accurate depiction of a plant and its parts made for a scientific purpose; a kind of illustration defined by its subject rather than a genre in the classical sense.
A botanical illustration is a drawing, print or other picture that shows a plant and its parts, often accurately rendered from life. Its purpose is scientific: the image must convey form, colour and detail fully enough for the plant to be identified to species level. For this reason botanical illustration is described as bridging art and science: it demands of its maker both artistic skill and botanical knowledge.
Like illustration in general, it is not a genre in the classical sense but a class of images defined by subject and purpose; the Getty thesaurus places it among “illustrations by subject type”. What separates it from a flower still life or a decorative floral motif is precisely the aim of scientific accuracy and completeness rather than the expressiveness of a composition.
Before photography, botanical illustration was the only way to record the plant world visually. Its early monuments include Dioscorides’ illustrated guide to medicinal plants, De materia medica. In the eighteenth century advances in printing made it possible to reproduce more colourful and detailed images; botanical artists were employed by the great botanic gardens and accompanied scientific expeditions.
