Abbate, Niccolo dell裮 1509-1571)

An Italian Mannerist painter active in his native Modena and in Bologna. His style was influenced by Correggio and Mantegna. His work includes a fresco cycle for the Palazzo Comunale in Modena in 1546 and a charming series with varied subjects in the Palazzo Poggi in Bologna in 1547. In 1552 he settled in France where he helped to introduce the Italian Mannerist style.

Adam, Robert & James

Georgian period architects that are best known for their decorative work in chimney-pieces, ceilings and furniture. They also built houses on a grand scale, such as Kedleston Hall.

They were well known for their adherence to the Palladian style of architecture and were also greatly influenced by the Greek Revival, resulting in the style known in itself as Adam. Their Works in Architecture(1773-79), became the standard reference book for fashionable large property owners and greatly influenced the design of many buildings of the period.

Ancelet, Gabriel-Auguste (b.1829)

Student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He was strongly influenced by the Romantic movement, which had just entered the Ecole in the form of the Neo-Grec style. This can be seen in his architectural drawings, for example his Fontaine 1848 (GAA01), a stone, iron and cloth structure which combines both local style with Neo-Grec detailing.

Anderton, Caroline (b.1957)

Caroline was born in Kuala Lumpur and as a child travelled widely with her family in the Far East, an experience she feels to have been a strong influence on the imagery she is interested in now.

She studied Fine Art both in England, and for a year in Italy, where she lived in Florence studying classical drawings under Signorina Simi. Upon returning to England she undertook a variety of commissions. Between 1982-1985 Caroline studied Graphic Design at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Now settled back in England she has found considerable success painting still life subjects in watercolour, including a very popular series depicting Ming porcelain.

Andrews, James

James Andrews was a Victorian botanical illustrator known for his many years of collaboration with the Rev. H.H. D�ain. For a short while they ran the Floral Magazine, a new publishing venture devoted 詥fly to the meritorious varieties of such introduced plants only as are of popular character, and likely to become established favourites in the Garden, Hothouse or ConservatoryԨis suited perfectly Andrews talent of portraying flowers and flower arrangements in a very sentimental mid-Victorian manner.

 He was asked to illustrate a new book of flower bouquets accompanied by 若ic illustrationsഩtled Floras Gems or the Treasures of the Parterre. The flowers drawn from nature were to be the main attraction of the book having a sensitivity and meticulous attention to detail rarely seen before. The plates are finely handcoloured stone lithographs and represent one of the most successful collaborations between artist and lithographer in terms of interpreting brush stroke, line and detail.

Anna, Alessandro d羚nt>

Audubon, John James (1785-1851)

An American naturalist and painter, born in Haiti of French/Creole parentage. He studied in Paris under the Neo-classical painter David between 1795-6 before going to America where he settled in 1807.

He established himself as a portrait painter, but his most famous and enduring work are his illustrations for Birds of America (1827-38). Audubon୥ticulous accuracy was combined with a feeling for intense drama, seen to great effect in his depiction of The Hooping Crane (JJA08), so that his drawings never became purely academic. The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845-6) was produced later with the help of his sons Victor Gifford (1809-60) and John Woodhouse (1812-62).

Ballin, Claude

Claude Ballin was the master bronze maker for Louis XIV. He produced a series of illustrations of vases that were designed to be placed around the parapet of the Orangerie at Versailles. These were then engraved by the court engraver Le Potre, six of which are to be found in the catalogue. These designs, executed in a Neo-classical manner, depict various mythological beasts and motifs and were to be highly influential in bronze manufacture, becoming known as Ballin Style. Ballin cast these vases exactly to his designs, they can still be seen today at Versailles in their original, intended position.

Baron, Jenny (b.1951)

Prior to her career as a painter, Jenny trained and worked as a textile designer. In 1985 she began producing individual pieces to sell, exhibiting her botanical watercolours in local galleries in the South West. In 1988 she submitted a series of rare magnolia paintings to the Royal Horticultural show where she was awarded a silver medal.

More recently, influenced by the National Gallery౹95 exhibition of Spanish still life, she has concentrated on painting vegetables, fruit and shells. These works combine intense realism with a feeling of drama, and add an extra visual significance to everyday objects. She works in watercolour as she feels this medium lends itself well to her realistic approach, and is also ideal for maintaining the transparency of flowers and fruit skins which feature in much of her work.

Bartolozzi, Francesco (1727-1815)

The son of a goldsmith with whom he trained before entering the Academia di Belle Arti in Florence. He was said to have been a skilful painter and an accomplished draughtsman but soon decided to concentrate on engraving.

In 1745 he went to Venice where he joined the shop of the engraver and print seller Joseph Wagner. His style appealed to various English patrons in Venice and in 1764 he was invited to England as the King८graver. His work was enormously popular, its production requiring the services of up to 50 assistants and pupils at any one time. In 1802 he left London for Portugal and became the director of the Academia de Belas Artes in Lisbon.

Bevere, Pieter de

The Loten Collection was produced between the years 1754-57 by Pieter de Bevere, a virtually self taught artist of mainly Ceylonese blood, being only ꠠ Dutch. The collection is of 154 coloured drawings of birds, mammals, insects and plants, commissioned by Joan Gideon Loten, governor of Dutch Ceylon from 1752-57.

Bevere received very little artistic instruction but in spite of this he produced one of the finest works of realist and representational natural history painting in the 18^th century. His attention to detail and technique owes much to the precision of Indian miniaturists by whom he was clearly influenced.  Bevere෯rk is considered to be among the best in ornithological illustration, especially in the use of colour and brushwork.

Blackadder, Elizabeth

The  most respected current botanical artist, now Painter Laureate, painted her first flower study in 1953 while a student at Edinburgh University.  For the next twenty years she was preoccupied with landscape, buildings, figures and still-lifes.  It was only when she moved with her artist husband John Houston to a new house with a sunny garden that she started to devote time to flowers as a painter and as a gardener.  Lilies were her first floral interest.  Soon afterwards in 1979 she helped to found and taught a course in Botanical illustration at the Edinburgh College of Art in association with the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.

Blackadder's flower painting derives from a deeply satisfying insistence on unpretentious water-colour combined with a devoted accuracy.  The joy of direct observation, and the urge to tell the truth catches the essence of the flower.  'I don't take liberties,' she says.  She means that she neither exaggerates nor idealizes.  Her flowers are allowed to shed petals, to flop, even to die.  That is why they live.

Boitte, Fran篩s -Philippe- see Ecole des Beaux -Arts

Brookes, Samuel

An eminent English Conchologist and Naturalist who is mainly remembered for his Introduction to the study of Conchology of 1815. The illustrations were drawn, engraved and hand-coloured from specimens in Brookes﷮ collection. Since the publication of this work, his illustrations have become models of shell representation.

Brune, Emmanuel

Fellow student of Victor Postolle at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the atelier of Charles Questel. He came second in the Grand Prix de Rome of 1862 and winner in 1863 for his Principal Staircase of a Palace of a Sovereign project.

Later he was to become Professor of Construction at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, where he was to be renowned for his avant garde use of new construction materials and the engineering possibilities they held. He worked with Charles Garnier on the Paris Opera, a project which not only had a very important influence on his work but also had a great impact on the Architectural academics of the period.

Bury, Priscilla Susan (c.Mid 1820ୠLate 1860鼯font>

Canova, Antonio (1757-1822)

The most famous Neo-classical Sculptor throughout Europe, Antonio Canova was brought up as a mason and had his own studio in Venice by 1774. In 1781 he moved to Rome where he was influenced by the flourishing Neo-classical movement in Art. After the French invasion of Rome in 1797 he went to Vienna, moving to Paris five years later at the invitation of Napoleon. He became a firm favourite of rolex yachtmaster the Bonaparte family, completing many commissions including two large nude standing figures of the Emperor Napoleon executed in a classical style.

Privately, he decorated the walls of his house in Possagno with long Tempera friezes devoted to Nymphs, Cherubs and Dancers, see (CA01-08). The models for these were serving girls, depicted in an alluring and distinctively provocative manner. The replica watches most important feature of these paintings is the predominance of the monochrome background, throwing the subjects into sharp relief rather like the classical friezes from the Elgin Marbles which he saw in the British Museum in 1816.

In his lifetime his work was replica watches uk often attacked by Purists, Bartolini once saying that his celebrated Three Graces looked like the failed union of three carrots. Probably a sentiment that would not be agreed with today!

Caracci, Agostino (1557-1602)

Agostino was an engraver and painter from Bologna who with his brother Annibale and cousin Ludovico (1555-1619)  founded a teaching Academy in Bologna. This achieved great fame and was responsible for the training of the next generation of Bolognese painters, including Domenchino, Reni and Guernico. He was in Rome in 1597-9, working with Annibale on the Farnese Gallery for a short period.

Carracci, Annibale (1560-1609)

Annibale is considered to be the most accomplished of the family. He appears to have travelled to Parma, Florence and Venice in the 1580෨ere he was inspired by the artists of the High Renaissance, particularly Correggio and Titian. In 1595 he went to Rome where he was commissioned by Cardinal Farnese to decorate the Farnese Palace. 

In the famous gallery he decorated the barrel vaulted ceiling in a boldly illusionistic manner ,depicting the Loves of the Gods. This work, the most important of Annibale튠 career, ranks alongside Raphael༩ style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Stanze in the Vatican and Michelangeloөstine ceiling as one the great schemes of decoration in Italy. Annibale also produced historical paintings and landscapes, the latter highly influential on Claude and Pouissin.

Chabrol, FranǼ/span>ois-Wilbrod - see Ecole des Beaux Arts

Chancel, Adrien

A student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the latter 1870෯rking in the atelier of Constant Moyaux. As a student, Chancel was known for his inventive and articulate use of iron and glass. In the Grand Prix project of 1877, An Atheneum for a capital City, his elaborate pre-cast metal design was to become the inspiration for many late Victorian Conservatories and glass houses.

Chancel튠 construction Professor was Emmanuel Brune whose own innovative approach clearly had a great influence on him. An example of Chancelలogeny are the numerous iron and glass market structures built in France in the late 19^th century.

Chinese Wallpaper

Chinese wallpaper first appeared in Europe in the late 17^th century. In response to the vogue for Chinoisiere, papers were made specially for the European market. The Chinese did not themselves use elaborate paper of this kind. Wallpaper was usually made up into 3m lengths and sold in numbered sets to show its sequence in the design. It was rarely pasted directly onto the wall, but would be mounted on canvas, stretched over battens which were then nailed onto the wall. Consequently it was relatively portable and better protected against damp and other damage, which meant that a considerable amount of Chinese wallpaper has survived today.

Churchill, Alexandra (B. 1946)

Born and educated in Vancouver, where she studied at the Vancouver School of Art.  She has painted in oils since the age of 12.  Inspired by an oil painting that her parents had just bought, she knew that she had to paint and has continued ever since. Her first subjects were taken from the ballet, followed by still lifes and animals. As her skills grew she discovered painters from the past such as George Stubbs, Gilpin and Wotton whose work gave her added inspiration.

In 1987 she moved to England settling in the Gloucestershire countryside which she feels to be a perfect environment for her work providing her with copious ideas for new subjects. Alexandra is Porter Designɮ-House Artist and has produced many exclusive and extremely popular series of images for the company, including Balloons, naﶥ animals and auriculas all of which are in great demand. Her work has universal appeal and can be seen in collections all around the world.

Corregio, Antonio Allegri da (c.1489/1494-1534)

An Italian painter of the Emilian school who was active chiefly in Parma. He was born in Correggio near Parma but few other details of his life and career are known. His early works suggest a training by or close to Mantegna, but he also absorbed the influence of Leonardo. In his mature paintings he combined a strong pervasive Leonardoesque sfumato and soft melting forms with bright sugary colours, in a style that looks forward to the Baroque and indeed the French 18^th century.

Cortona, Pietro (Berettini) da (1596-1669)

An Italian painter and architect, Cortona was one of the founders of the Roman High Baroque, comparable to Bernini in Sculpture. Pietro was born in Cortona and trained in Florence where he gained the patronage of the Sacchetti family. However, he was soon taken up by the powerful Barberini family for whom he painted the frescoes in Sta Bibiana, Rome, followed by his greatest work, the ceiling of the Barberini Palace. The fresco is a huge illusion, with the centre apparently open to the sky and figures which appear to be coming into the room itself or floating above it. Towards the end of his life he devoted much of his time to architecture, but he also published a Treatise on Painting in 1652 under a pseudonym.

Daniell,Thomas (1749-1840),William (1769-1837)

The aquatints of Thomas and his nephew William helped form the European perception of India. Their best known work is ⩥ntal Scenery稩ch was published between 1795-1808. It is based on hundreds of sketches made during their extensive travels on the Indian sub-continent between 1786-1793. They often worked on individual paintings together, William doing the initial sketching in of the composition, the finishing always being done by Thomas. The brilliant hand coloured prints from this work became an instant success and remain highly collectable today.

William Daniell made a major contribution to the English travel book, his series, 튠 voyage around Britain⥩ng his most notable work.

Dorigny, Sir Nicholas (1657-1747)

A French line engraver of figure subjects after Old Masters painters. He was born in Paris where he trained as a lawyer before turning to painting and later engraving. He was invited to England in 1711 to engrave Raphael튠 tapestry cartoons in Hampton Court and was knighted for this by George I in 1720.

Dutert, Arthur

A contemporary of Postolle and Brune at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he studied under Lebas and Ginain. He won the Prix de Rome in 1869 for his Palais d�ssade project. While in Italy he devoted his time to the research and reconstruction on paper of the Forums of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nerva and Trajan.

Dutert was the architect of the Galarie des Machines at the World Fair in Paris of 1889. This construction, along with the Eiffel Tower, was one of the wonders of the exhibition and demonstrated the possibilities of using steel in large structures.

Ecole des Beaux-arts

The Parisian Academy contained one of the most prestigious architectural schools of the nineteenth century, basing its doctrines on classical ideals.  Students were taught to draw sculpture during their first year, as a prelude to rendering architectural design on paper.  In this way, the Ecole des Beaux-Arts stressed representation in a sculptural way using shadow lines and fine detail.  Artistic and colourful presentation of design projects was an important part of the studentࣵrriculum.

The architects whose images are in this catalogue were all students between 1860 and 1885.  Many of the drawings are examination pieces, hence the stamp and signature of the examiner, and therefore fictional buildings.

Ehret, Georg Dionysius (1710-1770)

Georg Dionysius Ehret acquired a reputation in his life as one of the foremost botanical painters of his age.

From a very early age he was apprenticed to a gardener and spent much of his youth in that trade. A skilful and accomplished draughtsman, he soon acquired wealthy patrons.  He began to earn a living creating accomplished botanical drawings all across Europe, working and travelling in Germany, France, Holland and finally in England, where he settled.

Among his most important works are those he painted for the Swedish botanist Linnaeus, who originated the classification of plants used today.  He also illustrated the book by Griffith Hughes the Natural History of Barbados for which he made very accurate drawings of the Flora and Fauna of the islands. His series of Palm trees from this volume are a particularly fine example of his talents.

Fistulator,Wilhelm

A German artist whose most notable work was the decoration of the Reiche Kappelle in Munich for Maximilian I. The walls were decorated with Scagliole with geometric motifs in c.1600 depicting the life of the Virgin and a series of eight vases, two of which are shown in the catalogue.

The technique of Scagliola was probably bought to the court in Munich in 1587 by Wilhelm튠 father Blasius Fistulator. He was only allowed to teach his son the art of Scagliola with the permission of Maximillian and it was a jealously guarded secret until the middle of the seventeenth century. The basic material used is selenite, a rock which is fired, pulverised, then mixed with water and animal glue. Natural pigments are added to give colour and it is then poured into a pattern carved out of a slab of plaster and allowed to dry. It is then polished and hollowed out where necessary for decorative details to be added. The process is repeated several times and finally polished with walnut oil to heighten its brilliance and colour. The technique had been developed as a cheaper imitation of Pietre Dure but such was the skill of Fistulator that many people, including the great marble worker Cosimo Castrucci, were convinced it was composed of real stones.

Foujita, Tsuguharu (1886-1968)

A French painter of Japanese birth. After graduating from the Tokyo school of Fine Arts in 1910 he went to France in 1913 where he developed his own individual  style. His reputation in Parisian circles was high, established by such works as My Studio 1921 and Five Nudes 1923, where he used a thin, delicate line on a background of milky white material. He returned to Japan in 1933, after visiting both North and South America. During the second World War he was attached to Navy and Army ministries where he depicted the war zones in China and South East Asia. In 1955 he took French Nationality and converted to Catholicism in 1959.

Frescoes/Pompeii

The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 24 August A.D. 79 literally stopped the clocks for Pompeii which makes it all the more remarkable that these beautiful frescoes survived the resulting torrent of lava and volcanic ash that destroyed the town. These frescoes would have decorated the walls of a fine Roman house and still retain the strong feeling of Joie de Vivre that they must have had when they were originally painted.

Garzoni, Giovanna (1600-1670)

Giovanna Garzoni was one of only a few patronised women artists active in the 17^th Century. Her patrons included the powerful Barberini family in Rome and later, in Florence, members of the ruling Medici family for whom she painted miniature portraits and still lifes. Influenced by Dutch artists such as Ambrosius Bosschaeert and Georg Flegel she was probably the very first female Florentine miniaturist and established a school of painting with Lorenzo Todini amongst her pupils. 

Her works of fruit and vegetables are painted with a fine delicacy and a strong feel for composition that appears to be ahead of her time. A very skilled painter, Garzoni෯rk can sometimes be identified by her habit of including the reflection of a window in the picture, as for example in her still life of a Porcelain vase with tulips and pears. The distorted and somewhat flat perspective in her work was achieved by working with natural light behind her, from the subject reflected onto a slightly convex mirror, hence the reflection of the window.

Gaspard, Andr魠See Ecole des Beaux-Arts

Gericault, Theodore (1791-1824)

A French Romantic painter who was the pupil of Carle Vernet for two years. He travelled to Italy in 1816 where he was influenced by Caravaggio, Michelangelo and the Baroque movement in general. He returned to France in 1819 and exhibited his most important work The Raft of the Medusa. Between 1820-22 he was in England where the Raft was shown in a travelling exhibition. During this time he made many lithographs and paintings of horses and racing subjects.

On his return to France in 1822 he painted a series of harrowing but sympathetic portraits of the inmates of the Paris Asylum . His short, brilliant career came to an abrupt end when he died after falling from a horse. His work inspired Delacroix among others, and its violence and realism anticipated many trends in 19^th Century art.

Hedin, Andr魁rthur - See Ecole des Beaux- Arts

Hooker, Joseph

The son of William Jackson Hooker, director of Kew Gardens and professor of Botany at Glasgow University, Joseph Hooker formed an interest in the study of botany from an early age.

He was probably the most important botanical traveller to India. His journeys resulted in the two famous and beautiful works on Himalayan flora; Illustrations of Himalayan plants and The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalya. The latter was first published between 1848 and 1851. Before Hooker, only 32 Rhododendron species were known to the world but by the time his monograph was completed, 43 species had been collected from India alone. The original publication was a limited edition of approximately 100 copies with the illustrations drawn and lithographed by Walter Hood Fitch after field sketches by Hooker.

Hooker, William

William Hooker튠 illustrations of plants are acknowledged masterpieces of botanical art. Both an artist and gardener, Hooker had a remarkable knowledge of fruits. As a result, the Horticultural Society of London commissioned him to paint and describe about 150 of the most attractive and interesting varieties then being cultivated. The Pineapple series demonstrates his meticulous attention to detail and artistic skill, coupled with his extensive botanical knowledge of the subject.

Huillard, Charles-August - See Ecole des Beaux- Arts

Jardin des Plantes

These ornithological plates are from a collection from Le Jardin des Plantes which was published in 1842 by L.Curmer of Paris. They are part of a series representing the botanical and ornithological sections in the Paris Natural History Museum. The original artwork was gouache, watercolour and China ink on paper. The artists were Indian botanical illustrators working for the East India Company in the Calcutta Botanical gardens.

Joli, Antonio de (c.1700-77)

An Italian painter who studied in Panini೴udio in Rome. In 1735 he was known to be in Venice working as a scene painter, where his style was greatly influenced by Canaletto. He travelled widely in Europe, living in London from 1744 -48 where he had a managerial position at the Kings Theatre, Haymarket. From 1750-54 he worked in Madrid, returning to Venice in 1755 to be elected a founder member of the Venetian Academy.

Before long he settled in Naples where he became court painter to Charles VII. His paintings consist of architectural capriccios in the tradition of Panini and topographical views in the manner of Canaletto. His work is of particular interest as a document of 18th century urban life.

Kay, John (1742-1826)

A Scottish miniature painter, draughtsman and etcher of portrait caricatures. Born in Dalkeith, he originally worked for a barber until a pension from a benefactor enabled him to set himself up as a printseller and artist. From 1784 he started etching caricatures of Edinburgh characters, producing over 900 portraits, 21 of which are illustrated in the catalogue.

Luti, Benedetto (1666-1724)

Born in Florence, Luti was a figure of international reputation, renowned also as a collector and teacher. He had a celebrated studio in Rome where many successful artists trained, including Panini and the architect and landscape gardener William Kent. His work gradually evolved from the High Baroque manner into an elegant, rather sweet 18^th century style. 

Mee, Margaret (1909-88)

An English Botanical artist who is thought to have painted more species than any one else. In 1952 she travelled to Brazil with her husband to visit her sister in law Catherine. It was this trip that started her extraordinary career in botanical illustration and where for the next thirty-five years she accurately and comprehensively painted many species of the Amazon basin.

To make her drawings she travelled into the Brazilian jungle in a dugout canoe, to collect specimens and make paintings in situ of the tropical flora. Over this period Margaret Mee wrote and illustrated three books, including In search of Flowers from the Amazon Forest from which prints MM01-6 may be found in the catalogue. These faithful images of the various plants she found there,  have a powerful almost mystical quality about them, as well as an originality of style that makes them amongst the finest of the worldবower illustrations.

Morison, Robert

Robert Morison was known foremost as a lecturer in Botany at Oxford University. He compiled a large illustrated work entitled Plantarum Historia Universalis Oxoniensis published in 1672 which was primarily of horticultural flowers and vegetables. Some of the illustrations were taken from an earlier publication by Leonhart Rauwolff, a physician from Augsburg. The illustrations are a remarkably detailed record of many species of plants, some of which are now extinct.

Muhammad Khan

Dara Shikoh was a patron of many distinguished musicians, artists, poets and architects. His special love of pictures and calligraphy, an essential attribute for a Muslim prince, can be seen in this celebrated album prepared for him around 1658. Amongst the group of miniaturists that Dara Shikoh favoured, Muhammad Khan was the most original and had the largest reputation.

Panini, Giovanni Paolo (c.1692-1765/8)

Panini was the first painter to specialise in ruins, his views of Rome were especially popular with tourists on the Grand Tour. He was a master of the Capriccio, an architecturally accurate but fantastical composition, seen to great effect in his Trompe l婬 Panels for a False Loggia in Rome.

In 1729 he was involved in the organisation of a Fete in honour of the birth of the Dauphin and this began a long connection with both France and the French Academy in Rome. Like Vanvitelli, Panini was to be a great influence on Canaletto and also Piranesi.

Paulin, Edmund

Paulin studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the atelier of Baudoyer. He won the Prix de Rome of 1875 for his Palais de Justice a Paris project.

Paulin was most famous for his subsequent reconstructions of the Baths in Rome. In 1890 Paulin published his Monumental Roman Baths, perspectives that were well received world-wide. As a direct result of this the Beaux-Arts Style developed in the United States, an architectural style which influenced many of the banks, railway stations and other public buildings of the time, (such as Grand Central Station in Manhattan).

Perrier, Franciscus

A French artist who worked for Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647, a pupil of Agostino Carracci). He worked in Rome between 1625-9 and returned there in 1635 for ten years, during which time he executed the frescoes in the Gallery of the Palazzo Almagia on the Corso. His studies of classical figures, date from this period of his career, clearly drawn from his study of Roman statuary and architecture.

Peruzzi, Baldassare (1481-1536)

An Italian painter, architect and scenographer. He was born in Sienna and settled in Rome in 1503 where he was greatly influenced by Bramante with whom he worked on the designs for St Peters. He built the Villa Farnesina in Rome for the wealthy banker Agostino Chigi who was also an important patron of the Arts. His skill in perspective and stage design can be seen very clearly in the frescoes he painted at the Villa, especially those in the Drawing room where he created a spectacular illusionist view of Rome.

Pietre Dure

Pietre Dure, literally Ფ stoneੳ the technique of inlaying semi-precious or quartz-like stones such as onyx, chalcedony or agate to produce decorative pieces. Though the use of Pietre Dure was established in Italy in the Middle Ages, specialist craftsmen who made furniture with mosaic-like inlaid surfaces, really became established in Florence in the 16^th century. 

Postolle, Victor (B. 1836)

Born in Dreux, France in 1836, Postolle entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1860. He studied in the atelier of Adolphe-Marie-Fran缯span>ois J⹬ the most renowned Professor of Construction at the Ecole des Beaux Arts between 1836 and 1871. He was promoted to the 1^st class in 1865 and received the first prize. Postolle was one of the more accomplished students, being particularly noted for his exceptional technique and use of watercolour.

He also worked with Charles-August Questel, the Principal of an important studio that produced six winners of the Grand Prix de Rome. This was the highest honour given by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, its winner being assured of securing the most prestigious projects.

Rabel, Daniel (1578-1637)

A French draughtsman, printmaker and engineer. In 1612 he became painter to the Duke of Mantua and drawing master to his children, also designing costumes for the burlesque ballets performed at the court. In 1618 he was appointed director of the fortifications of Champagne and Brie, becoming Ing鮩eur du Roi in 1625. Rabel produced over 230 etchings of various subjects: landscapes, flowers, genre scenes and costumes as well as highly realistic illuminations in gouache for a book of flowers, Theatrum Florae 1633, four of which are illustrated in the catalogue.

Raineri, Carlo Antonio (1765-1826), Vittorio  (1797-1869)

Both Carlo Antonio Raineri and his son Vittorio began their careers at the Brera Academia in Lombardy. They worked in the  Neoclassical style of the time but soon both Father and son were to be influenced by the Scuola d⮡to which specialised in highly decorative and ornate work. They became well  known for their highly individual designs that were to be used on porcelain, fabrics, wallpapers and other architectural projects, usually oriental or chinoiserie in style.

The prints in the catalogue are of a series of ornithological studies, a theme that the Raineriୡde extensive use of in their decorative schemes. These works were very popular with the European market who used them to compliment the various oriental and eastern imports that were becoming increasingly fashionable.

Renard, Louis

The work Poissons, Ecrevisses et Crabes, was published in Amsterdam by  Louis Renard in 1754.  He used a variety of images from different sources for the book, including many attributed to the artist Samuel Fallours (active 1703-20), which are shown in the catalogue.

These images are among the most remarkable illustrations of fish ever produced and indeed it is thought to be the first time that they had ever been illustrated in their own right. Samuel Fallours, who began his career as a soldier, worked in Ambon in the Malay Archipelago at the Dutch East India Company (V.O.C.) trading station. It was here that he produced his drawings of fish and other crustaceans which, once published, aroused great interest amongst the Dutch gentry who avidly collected items of both a scientific and exotic nature.

Reni, Guido (1575-1642)

An Italian painter and engraver who enjoyed the highest reputation in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. His subjects were generally religious narratives executed in a classical Baroque style. In 1600 he settled in Rome where he saw and admired the work of Caravaggio (whom it is said, threatened to kill him).His own style however was classically influenced, his compositions balanced and graceful, owing much to Carracci and Raphael. The best example of his work is the Aura ceiling fresco of 1613-14 in the Palazzo Rospigliosi, Rome.

Robert, Nicholas (1614-85)

A French artist who was court painter to Louis X1V. He was renowned for his work Fiori Diversi published in Rome in 1640. His main work was the Receuil des Plantes with its large plates of very high quality engraved by Robert himself. The text was by various members of the Academie Royale des Sciences, which was also to be the publisher. Unfortunately, the complete work did not appear until 1788, due to severe financial constraints, more than a century after Roberts death.

Roberts, David (1796-1864)

A Scottish painter who originally worked as a scene painter in Edinburgh and Glasgow Theatres. During the 1820ਥ began a career as a topographical painter. He visited Spain and Morocco between 1832-3 making drawings which were reproduced as Lithographs in Picturesque Sketches in Spain. His lasting fame however, is as a painter of Middle Eastern Subjects. After visiting the region in 1838-9 his drawings were published as a series of 147 lithographs. His paintings typically emphasise the overwhelming scale of ancient monuments and he has been occasionally criticised for compromising topographical accuracy in the interests of dramatic effect.

Robins, Thomas (1716-1770)

Thomas Robins the Elder was born in Charlton Kings near Cheltenham and although he worked a great deal from Bath, he did not finally move there until 1760. Known as the Limner of Bath  he produced many panoramic watercolours of Bath which provide us with an interesting record of the city.  He was also well known for his delightful paintings of prospects of houses and gardens framed with borders of flowers, birds, shells and butterflies. His works depicting various gardens are very important as they provide us with the only record of the brief Rococo period of garden design. Apart from these paintings there is almost no evidence that certain gardens ever existed, because almost without exception, they have disappeared.

Smit, Joseph

A famous 19^th century ornithological artist and lithographer who illustrated the plates from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society. Along with fellow naturalist Joseph Wolf, he developed a technique for combining field observation with detailed studies taken from specimens in his studio. His private collection, together with that of Daniel Elliot forms the nucleus of the department of Ornithology in the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Tapestries

Tapestries have been found amongst the most ancient civilisations and cultures and are a very ancient Art form. Mediaeval tapestries were woven in large workshops in France and the Spanish Netherlands on vertical looms, wool being the principal material used. From the 15^th century silk was used for depicting highlights and gold and silver threads were also introduced. Tapestries were seen as symbols of wealth and it was common practice to travel with them back and forth from winter to summer residences. Tapestry weaving flourished from the 15^th-18^th centuries in Northern Europe but the high costs involved were the principal cause of its eventual decline.

Tessier, Louis

Tessier followed the French court painter tradition for Natural History artists that was started in the 17^th century, and was favoured by Royal patronage. He was inspired greatly by his travels to Italy, and especially his visit to Florence. Tessier specialised in painting pictures of large, flamboyant bouquets of flowers.  Many of these were originally included in the Royal Collection of paintings on vellum, known as the velins.

Tingqua (b.1809)

Guan Lianchang, also known as Tingqua came from a family of painters based in Canton. His studio at 16 China Street, Guangzhou, was known to be the most prolific source of Chinese export paintings of the period. He worked in a manner influenced by Western artistic tradition, restricting himself to gouache and watercolour. His pictures, often sold in sets, were of various subjects such as deities, gardens, boats, natural history specimens as well as views of Canton, Macao and Shanghai.

Todini, Lorenzo (1683-1689)

Todini came from the school of Garzoni where he came to specialise in miniature painting. His work was influenced by both Florentine and Dutch artists and he was said to be one of the best miniature artists of the period. Like Garzoni, he produced a series of still life studies, mixing flowers and fruit with contemporary ornaments to produce a highly decorative feel.

Vanvitelli, Gaspare (1653-1736)

Born in Amersfoort, Holland as Caspar van Wittel, but known in Italy as Vanvitelli.

He was known to have been in Rome by the time of the Jubilee of 1675. He worked as a draughtsman on a scheme for regulating the Tiber and this probably gave him the idea of making large and very accurate topographical drawings which could be worked up into Vedute (Italian views). He is now recognised as an extremely important forerunner of painters such Canaletto and Panini and produced many fine paintings of Italian cities such as Rome, Venice and Naples

Vaudremer, Emile - see Ecole des  Beaux-Arts

Vernet, Carle (1758-1836)

Carle Vernet came from a family of French artists, his father, the landscape painter Claude Joseph being the best known. Carle specialised in horses, racing and battle scenes, the latter principally for Napoleon.

In 1812 Napoleon sent word that the Imperial Army would need new uniforms for its triumphal re-entry into Paris. Their creation was entrusted to Colonel Bardin who chose Carle Vernet to collaborate on the illustrations. He produced 245 watercolours, showing dress, insignia, kit, accoutrements, as well as horse harness of the French Army. The quality of this work makes it the finest source of information concerning uniform of the period.

Vionnois, Felix

Student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Paccard.  He won the Grand Prix de Rome of 1870 for his Faculte de Medecine project.

Vionnois went on for further study in Italy, Greece and Asia Minor where he reconstructed the Temple of Athena at Priene.  In collaboration with Deglanne and Louvet, he built the Grand Palais in Paris for the World Exhibition of 1900. This building and the Gare dⳡy are probably the two most notable and renowned monuments of the Belle Epoque era. Soon after, the reaction to this style developed into Art Moderne.

Volterrano, Baldassare Franceschini (1611-89)

A Florentine artist who began his career as Giovanni da San Giovanniࡳsistant in the Palazzo Pitti (1635-6).  He was to be greatly influenced by Pietro da Cortonaȩgh Baroque style, his work in the Sala delle Allegorie in the Palazzo Pitti (c. 1652) reflecting this.

Walther, Johann

Johann Walther, a miniaturist from Strasbourg, painted a sumptuous volume of flower paintings known as the Hortis Itsteinensis, for his patron the Count of Nassau-Ildstein between 1654 and 1674. He illustrated the familyৡrdens, fruit, flowers and various architectural fantasies in great detail, his style highly influenced by the Dutch school of botanical illustration.  This can be seen especially clearly in his studies of tulips which have great attention to detail and give us a precise record of the varieties around at the time

It is one of several Florilegia (collections of flowers), illustrating cultivated plants that were painted in the Sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for wealthy patrons. This period was an exciting time for botanical drawing as both travel and trade brought many varieties of plants to Europe which had never been seen before. There are two surviving copies of this work, one is to be found in the Bibloth豵e Nationale, Paris. The other is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Withers, Augusta Innes Baker (1792-1869)

Augusta Withers, a clergymanडughter, lived and worked in London all her life. She married an accountant, twenty years older than her, and for many years lived a comfortable life, socialising with many rich and prominent people who encouraged her artistic aspirations. Such were her talents, that she became Flower Painter in Ordinary to Queen Adelaide. During the 1830s and 40s she produced drawings for various books and magazines such as the Pomological Magazine and Curtis튠 Botanical Magazine. Such was her confidence at her talents, that she applied to Hooker at the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew for the post of Botanical Flower Painter. However she was rejected, allegedly because she was a woman.

In 1834 she exhibited her paintings at the Horticultural Society and was highly complimented. Perhaps her crowning achievement though, were the remarkable plates she produced for James Batemans Orchidacae of Mexico and Guatemala (1837-41) The orchid plates are amongst the most exceptional ever drawn, capturing the true character of the flower. Sadly her contribution to the book went virtually unnoticed and Augusta Withers, whose fortune took a steep decline after the death of her patron Queen Adelaide, died penniless and destitute of pneumonia in 1877.

Wolf, Joseph (1820-1899)

A German painter, draughtsman and lithographer of animal and bird subjects. He was born in Prussia and came to England in 1848 where he settled in London. Fellow naturalists admired Wolf as the ﳴ original observer of animal wild life䨥y knew.  He executed the paintings for the book by Daniel Giraud Elliot,  A Monograph of the Phasianidae of 1872. Elliot was a wealthy New Yorker who devoted much of his life to ornithological pursuits, his private collection forming the nucleus of the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Wolf studied his subjects in the convenient setting of the Zoological Garden at Regents Park and also produced many works for the Zoological Society.

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