Pancratium maritimum
Artwork not currently on view.
Depicting a pancratium maritimum, or sea daffodil, this work was created by famed 19th century botanical illustrator Pierre Joseph Redouté. The delicacy of these botanical forms was achieved through a process called stipple engraving. Created by Redouté, this process uses tiny dots bitten into the surface of a metal engraving plate to transfer ink onto paper, allowing for wide gradations of tone and shading.
About the Artist
Pierre Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) was born in 1759 in Belgium to a family of artists. At the age of 13 he left home to work as an artist in Luxembourg and Holland where he was greatly influenced by the Dutch flower painters. An expert in both watercolor and engraving, Redouté was an art tutor to Marie Antoinette, who later appointed him “Draughtsman and Painter to the Queen’s Cabinet.” In 1798, Empress Joséphine Bonaparte became Redouté’s patron, appointing him to paint the flowers in the garden of her personal château.
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