12 Botanical Illustrations (A Photo Project)

IN THE STYLE OF

Pierre-Joseph Redouté
botanical artist (1759–1840)

ABOVE: Examples of beautiful floral drawings by Pierre-Joseph Redouté from the 19th century provided inspiration for this photography project

THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF BOTANICAL ILLUSTRATIONS
Before the invention of photography, accurately reproducing botanical detail required great artistic and observational skill. Some of the earliest examples of plant drawings date to the 1st century in Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica. This text, along with its illustrations, was reproduced in herbals through the middle ages (See figure 01 & 02, below).

By today’s standards, these early illustrations were often botanically inaccurate, depicting plants in a two-dimensional, highly stylised, or even symbolically way — such as depicting mandrake roots as humanoid (01, below). By the 16th century, the influence of early scientific ideas lead to a new emphasis on accurate observation. The beautiful work of Leonhart Fuchs demonstrates a far more precise depiction, though his artists still attempted to fit plants into a rigid geometric space. For example, in Fuchs’ drawing of garden balsam and pasque-flower (03, below) the illustrations appear flattened and regularised to fit within the printing block frames.

By the turn of the 19th century, botanical artists managed to relinquish this imposed rigid geometry entirely. In its place they captured the subtle beauty of the natural organisation of flowers and foliage – their own organic geometry. Redouté’s work brought this to a height of refinement and delicacy, inspiring me to translate this classic aesthetic into modern photography.

CREATING THE STYLE
In his illustrations, Redouté captures the clear, crisp structure of a plant. He treats the leaves and stems with as much detail and importance as the flowers themselves. The muted colour palettes and razor-sharp lines produce a striking graphical quality, while the distinctive, steeply slanted cursive script emphasises the refined elegance of the illustrations.

To achieve a similar look through photography, I carefully selected and cut specimens that best embodied the botanical essence of each plant. I ensured that the flower, stem, and foliage exemplified the characteristics of the species.

Then, in the studio (my kitchen), I photographed each specimen against a plain white wall, experimenting with different angles and “poses” until I captured their best side. In post-processing, I gently desaturated the images and adjusted the green tones until a pleasing, hand-rendered, “paper-reflective” look was achieved. Finally, I overlaid a subtle paper texture and applied the Pinyon Script typeface, which beautifully mirrors the mechanical precision and sharp slant of Redouté’s copperplate-engraved lettering.

Keir Watson

All the photos in this gallery were taken in May 2026 using plants grown in my garden.