Botanical Sketchbooks
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.76 (652 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1616895888 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 288 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-03-12 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
It contains first drafts and unfinished work copied from scraps of paper, sketchbooks and loose single pages. Summing Up: Recommended. "Are you a plant lover, or is there one in your life? How about an art lover? Or a plant-art lover? If so, you owe it to yourself a look at Botanical Sketchbooks, Helen and William Bynum's compendium of planty illustrations spanning six centuries and almost 300 pages. Most works on botanical sketching are either "how-to" books for artists or books focusing on a single artist or collection. She financed her own scientific expeditions to find subjects to draw, which was a pretty scandalous practice for a woman in those days. The selection of the 80 artists leans heavily to Europe and North America, and their exploratory and colonial efforts, but does include some non-Western artists. Born in 1647 in what was to become Germany, Maria Sibylla Merian painted butter
But it is often these early attempts that give us real insight into the firsthand experiences and adventures of the botanists, artists, collectors, and explorers behind them.This exquisite visual compendium of botanical sketches by eighty artists from around the world brings these personal and vividly spontaneous records back into the light. While there are many histories of botanical art featuring beautiful paintings and finished drawings, the artists' preparatory sketches, first impressions, and scribbled notes on paper are rarely seen. Filled with remarkable images from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries, sourced from the unparalleled collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Library, Art & Archives, and other libraries, museums, and archives, Botanical Sketchbooks also provides fascinating biographical portraits of the intriguing characters featured within, including such renowned artists, scientists, and amateur botanists as Leonardo da Vinci, Georg Dionysius Ehret, Carl Linnaeus, Maria Sibylla Merian, Mark Catesby, and Helen and Margaret Shelley (sisters of the novelist Mary Shelley), among many others.. Recording the world of plant and animal life and documenting the strange beauty of the natural world have been human passions ever since
"Wow" according to florine. Beautiful, beautiful book A delight for artists and plant lovers alike. The reproductions are crisp and clear - and there are lots of them!. Five Stars Jeanne Hurford Good review of the drawing/painting process.. "Five Stars" according to Amazon Customer. Fantastic!
Helen and William Bynum are historians of science and medicine who also have a particular interest in horticulture and the importance of plants in human culture and society. They have written or edited numerous books, including Great Discoveries in Medicine and, most recently, Remarkable Plants.