from The Natural History of Barbados
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Georg Dionysius Ehret (after) |
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Pair of copperplate engravings after the renowned botanical artist Georg Dionysius Ehret, depicting local flora of Barbados, each dedicated to a prominent person in elaborate engraved calligraphy and accompanied by the dedicatee’s coat of arms. Plate 20 depicts a branch from a tree or shrub with yellow flowers, along with a detail of its fruit. Plate 23 shows a maize-like plant and grasses. They originally came from an illustrated work by the Reverend Griffith Hughes, A.M. Ehret produced 30 illustrations for the work, and he may also have made the engravings (Blunt, 164). Georg Dionysus (G.D.) Ehret was the dominant influence in botanical art during the 18th century. He was born in Heidelberg, Germany, and trained as a gardener. He became the protégé of the Margrave of Baden-Durlach, who hired him to design and town and palace gardens at Karlsruhe and make paintings of his flowers. After leaving the Margrave's employ, he made his way to Regensburg, where he met Johann Wilhelm Weinmann, and was engaged to produced drawings for Phythanoza Iconographia, which were Ehret's first published works. Upon producing the first 500 drawings, he had a dispute with Weinmann over the ridiculously low payment he was given, and obtained a new position copying plates for another patron, while also working independently on new paintings. His talents were recognized by Dr. Jakob Trew of Nuremberg, who became his lifelong patron and friend. With Trew's backing, Ehret was able to leave his copying job. He made his way through Europe, eventually winding up in Leiden in 1736, where he met the eminent naturalist Linnaeus, and then went to England, where he remained the rest of his life. In London, he had a busy and successful career as a painter and instructor, obtaining numerous commissions from aristocratic patrons and numbering several duchesses and countesses among his pupils. He produced an important body of botanical paintings, including plates for a number of florilegia and travel books, notably Trew's Plantae Selectae (1750-1773) and Hortus…Amoenissimorum Florum (1750-1786) and his own Plantae Paliliones Rariores (1748-1759). Ehret often engraved his own plates. In 1757, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. His works today are represented in many important museum collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Natural History Museum. Griffith Hughes was probably born in England and educated at Oxford, where he received his M.A. in 1748. He was serving as the rector of St. Lucy’s Parish in Barbados when he produced The Natural History of Barbados, which is notable in part for containing the first scientific report of the existence of the grapefruit, a natural hybrid that appeared on Barbados, which Griffith referred to as “the forbidden fruit.” Hughes was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1750. Dedication, plate 20: “To the Right Rev’d Father in God, John Lord Bishop of Salisbury, This Plate is humbly Inscrib’d &c.” Dedication, plate 23: “To the honorable Coll: Yorke this Plate is humbly Inscrib’d &c.” Condition: Generally very good with the usual light overall toning and wear. References: Blunt, Wilfred, rev. by Stearn, William T. The Art of Botanical Illustration. Woodbridge, Suffolk, England: Antique Collectors Club, 1994. pp. 25, 155, 159-166. Coy, Eggink, et. al. “The Barbados Rum Challenge.” 2002 http://www.spandh.org/rum.pdf. (1 September 2004). |