The Redouté brothers: masters of scientific illustration in Paris

Abstract

"This work provides the first comprehensive biography of the three Redouté brothers, Antoine-Ferdinand, Pierre-Joseph and Henri-Joseph. Originating from humble origins in the Ardennes, they all took root in Paris where Antoine-Ferdinand became a decorative painter. By contrast, Pierre-Joseph and Henri-Joseph embarked as botanical illustrators on a scientific and aesthetic career including numerous contributions to the prestigious royal paintings on vellum. The central figure of this work is Pierre-Joseph, whose accurate illustrations document science during the late phase of the Enlightenment, throughout the turbulences of the French Revolution, the Napoleonic era and into the Restoration. Thus, Pierre-Joseph provided works for Empress Josephine and Queen Maria Amalia. An indefatigable worker, he produced an enormous number of botanical illustrations, many of a very high calibre. A large number of which were reproduced as engravings for a long list of publications which multiplied by many times the effect of his work. His association with the new Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle, but also notably with C.-L. L'Héritier and the Geneva botanist A. P. de Candolle, ensured successive commissions. Henri-Joseph joined the scientific team that accompanied Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, documenting plants, animals and artefacts. Although his output was more geared towards paintings of animals, he was frequently asked to contribute botanical works for Pierre-Joseph. In essence, the focus of this book is not on the written record but on the pictorial. Furthermore, it offers a panorama of the travellers, collectors, scientists, gardeners and illustrators in one of the great centres of the time - Paris."-- Publisher's website.

Contents

Foreword / Michelle Lenoir -- Preface / Hans Walter Lack -- Preliminary notes -- Chronological timeline -- Introduction -- Part one. The formative years -- Part two. A multitude of projects -- Part three. The great works -- Part four. Henri-Joseph and the Description de l'Égypte -- Part five. Josephine's garden at Malmaison, Les Roses and other projects -- Part six. Pierre-Joseph, a Paris celebrity -- Part seven. Pierre-Joseph and Henri-Joseph as seen in a larger context -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgements -- Appendices [Appendix 1 - Annotated bibliography of publications to which Pierre-Joseph Redouté has contibuted illustrations [late 1785 or early 1786-1855 and undated] ; Appendix 2 - Bibliography of publications to which Henri-Joseph Redouté has contributed illustrations [1791-1854] ; Appendix 3 - List of still-lifes by Pierre-Joseph and Henri-Joseph Redouté exhibited in the Salon de Correspondance and the Salon de Paris ... ; Appendix 4 - Henri-Joseph in Egypte. Extract from Henri-Joseph's autobiography ... / translated by Hans Walter Lack .... [English and French] ; Appendix 5 - Pierre-Joseph's introductory text to his Choix des plus belles fleurs. Paris, 1827, / translated by A. Lawalrée .... [English and French] ; Appendix 6 - List of publications accompanying exhibitions dedicated to Pierre-Joseph and Henri-Joseph Redouté -- Preliminary catalogue raisonné of the works by Pierre-Joseph Redouté -- Preliminary catalogue raisonné of the works by Henri-Joseph Redouté -- Unpublished text sources.