Pierre joseph redoute biography of abraham lincoln

Botanical artist and royal flower painter Pierre-Joseph Redoute (1759-1840), survived the turbulent political upheaval to gain international recognition for his precise renderings of plants which remain as fresh in the late 20th century as when first painted.

Paris was the cultural and scientific center of Europe during an outstanding period (1798 - 1837) in the illustration of plants, one noted for the publication of several folio books with colored plates. Redoute, contributed over 2100 published plates depicting over 1800 different species, many never rendered before.

Although relatively uneducated, Redoute left home in what was then part of Luxembourg at the age of 13 to earn his living as an itinerant Belgian painter, doing interior decoration, portraits and religious commissions. Becoming acquainted with the work of Dutch flower painters Brueghel, Ruysch, van Huysum and de Heem, Redoute determined to become an heir to the tradition.