Rosa Indica Subviolacea (1817 - 1824)

Pierre-Joseph Redouté prints bring the most celebrated flower paintings ever made into your home: the roses and lilies he painted for Empress Joséphine at Malmaison. Known as the "Raphael of flowers", Redouté produced over 2,100 published plates of more than 1,800 species and is often called the greatest botanical illustrator of all time. Our collection of fine art prints includes Les Roses, Les Liliacées and his finest flower books.

About Pierre-Joseph Redouté

Pierre-Joseph Redouté was born on 10 July 1759 in Saint-Hubert, in what is now Belgian Luxembourg, into a family of painters. He left home at 13 to work as a travelling painter, and in 1782 joined his brother in Paris painting theatre scenery. There the botanists Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle and René Desfontaines steered him toward botanical illustration, and L'Héritier taught him to dissect flowers and draw them precisely. He also learned watercolour from Gerard van Spaendonck at the Jardin du Roi.

L'Héritier introduced him at Versailles, and Marie Antoinette became his patron. Redouté kept working through the Revolution, and in 1798 Empress Joséphine took him up; he became her official artist and painted the plants of her garden at the Château de Malmaison. He collaborated on nearly fifty publications with the leading botanists of the day.

After Joséphine's death in 1814 he had some difficult years, but in 1822 he became master of drawing at the National Museum of Natural History, and in 1825 a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. He taught and painted until he died in Paris in June 1840, and was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Style and Subjects

Redouté worked from living plants rather than dried specimens, which gives his flowers their freshness. His plates were printed as stipple engravings in colour and finished by hand, giving soft, glowing tones with almost no hard outlines.

Roses and lilies are his most famous subjects, shown as single elegant stems with buds, leaves and thorns, but he also painted rare plants from Japan, America, South Africa and Australia. He is seen as an heir to the Dutch and Flemish flower painters such as Jan van Huysum and Rachel Ruysch.

Famous Works

• Les Liliacées (1802–1816). His great work on lilies, amaryllis and bulbs, painted for Empress Joséphine.
• Jardin de la Malmaison, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (watercolours). Plants from Joséphine's garden, including many from Australia.
• Description des plantes rares cultivées à Malmaison et à Navarre. Rare plants from Joséphine's gardens.
• Les Roses: Rosa Centifolia Anemonoides. One of the roses from his most famous book, Les Roses.
• La botanique de J. J. Rousseau. Plates for an edition of Rousseau's letters on botany.
• Choix des plus belles fleurs et de quelques branches des plus beaux fruits (1827). His later book of the most beautiful flowers and fruits, made for pleasure.
• A Bouquet of Flowers with Insects (1834). A late flower piece in the Dutch tradition.

Decorating with Redouté Prints

Redouté's roses are made for romantic, elegant rooms: a bedroom, dressing room, powder room or sitting room. Hang a pair either side of a bed or mirror, or a grid of six or nine in gilt or white frames for a classic French look.

His lilies and amaryllis are taller and bolder, suiting a hallway, stairway or dining room, while the Choix flowers and fruit plates sit well in a kitchen or breakfast room. Soft pinks and greens pair beautifully with pale walls and linen.

FAQ

Who was Pierre-Joseph Redouté?

Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840) was a painter and botanist from the Austrian Netherlands, famous for his watercolours of roses and lilies. He is often called the greatest botanical illustrator of all time.

Why is he called the "Raphael of flowers"?

The nickname praises the beauty and perfection of his flower paintings, comparing him with the Renaissance master Raphael.

Who were his patrons?

Queen Marie Antoinette, Empress Joséphine, Empress Marie Louise and Queen Maria Amalia, wife of Louis Philippe I, all supported his work.

Where are his original watercolours?

Most of the Jardin de la Malmaison watercolours are in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. The originals for Les Roses were dispersed, with some at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation.

How were his prints made?

Many were printed as stipple engravings in colour and finished by hand, giving soft, glowing tones.

Related Artists

• Gerard van Spaendonck: his watercolour teacher at the Jardin du Roi
• Pancrace Bessa: fellow French flower painter of the same era
• Jan van Huysum: Dutch flower painter in the tradition he inherited
• Rachel Ruysch: Dutch flower painter in the same tradition
• Sydenham Edwards: English botanical illustrator of the same years