Gladiolus watsonius

Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin prints bring the rare plants of eighteenth-century Vienna into your home: pelargoniums, gladioli, lachenalias, oxalis and exotic flowers grown in the imperial gardens of Schönbrunn. Jacquin was a Dutch-born botanist who collected in the West Indies, ran the Vienna botanical garden and published some of the finest illustrated plant books of his age. Our collection of fine art prints draws on these plates.

About Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin

Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin was born in Leiden on 16 February 1727, the son of a cloth manufacturer. He studied medicine in Leiden and Paris, where he attended the lectures of Antoine de Jussieu. With the help of Gerard van Swieten, physician to Empress Maria Theresa, he moved to Vienna in 1752 and began studying plants in the imperial gardens of Schönbrunn.

From 1754 to 1759 he joined an Austrian expedition to the West Indies, collecting plants for Emperor Francis I to grow at Schönbrunn. In 1763 he became professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the mining academy in Schemnitz, and in 1768 professor of botany and chemistry and director of the botanical garden of the University of Vienna. He corresponded with Linnaeus and was made a baron in 1806.

His home was a meeting place for scholars and musicians. His children were friends of Mozart, who dedicated the Kegelstatt Trio to the family and gave piano lessons to his daughter Franziska. Jacquin died in Vienna in October 1817, and his son Joseph Franz succeeded him as professor.

Style and Subjects

Jacquin's books were illustrated by artists working under his supervision, with plates engraved and coloured by hand. Each plant is shown whole on a plain page, with stem, leaves and flowers in clear, natural colour and fine botanical detail.

Many of his subjects were new to European gardens: pelargoniums, gladioli, lachenalias and oxalis, as well as tropical plants from the Americas. The plates have a crisp, elegant quality typical of the great age of botanical publishing.

Famous Works

• Selectarum Stirpium Americanarum Historia (1763). His account of the plants he collected in the West Indies.
• Flora Austriaca (1773–1778). Five volumes on the plants of Austria.
• Icones Plantarum Rariorum (1781–1793). Three volumes of rare plants.
• Plantarum Rariorum Horti Caesarei Schoenbrunnensis (1797–1804). Four volumes of rare plants from the imperial garden at Schönbrunn.
• Pelargonium bullatum. One of the many pelargoniums in our collection.
• Gladiolus tubulosus. A slender gladiolus from his plates.
• Oxalis versicolor. A striped wood sorrel; he also wrote a monograph on Oxalis.

Decorating with Jacquin Prints

Jacquin's plates suit classic, elegant rooms: a dining room, drawing room or hallway, in gilt, black or walnut frames. A row of pelargoniums or gladioli makes a graceful set above a sideboard or console.

His smaller, brightly coloured flowers such as lachenalias and oxalis work well in a kitchen, bathroom or garden room, grouped in threes or sixes.

FAQ

Who was Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin?

Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin (1727–1817) was a Dutch-born scientist who worked in Vienna on botany, chemistry and medicine. He directed the University of Vienna's botanical garden and published many illustrated plant books.

Where did his plants come from?

Many were collected on his 1754–1759 expedition to the West Indies, and many more were grown in the imperial gardens of Schönbrunn and the Vienna botanical garden.

What was his connection to Mozart?

His children were friends of Mozart, who gave piano lessons to his daughter Franziska and dedicated several works to the family, including the Kegelstatt Trio.

Did Jacquin paint the plates himself?

He used artists to illustrate his books under his direction; his Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis, for example, has plates by Franz Anton von Scheidel.

What are his best-known books?

They include Selectarum Stirpium Americanarum Historia, Flora Austriaca, Icones Plantarum Rariorum and the four volumes on rare plants of the Schönbrunn garden.

Related Artists

• Pierre-Joseph Redouté: the great flower painter of the next generation
• Georg Dionysius Ehret: leading botanical artist of Jacquin's century
• Johann Wilhelm Weinmann: earlier German botanical publisher
• Maria Sibylla Merian: earlier painter of plants from the Americas