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Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium
Click on the drawings to view a larger version of the image and to see more information about the work.
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The earliest florilegia—anthologies of illustrations describing living collections of flowering plants—first appeared 400 years ago. Europe's royalty was avidly assembling collections of new and rare plants from all corners of the world and had begun to commission artists to record the marvels growing in their gardens. The illustrated herbals of previous centuries were often of considerable beauty, but they were, above all, medical books. Florilegia were drawn from life and botanically accurate, but they also placed new and exuberant emphasis on the beauty of plants.
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society, a group of the country's most accomplished botanical artists, is reinventing this centuries-old form. Established in 2000, the Florilegium is a multiyear project to document Brooklyn Botanic Garden's living collections through botanical art and preserve the same plants in our 250,000-specimen herbarium. Florilegium Society artists and Brooklyn Botanic Garden botanists and gardeners collaborate in this perfect marriage of art and science.
This project would not be possible without the enthusiasm and generosity of Florilegium Society fellows and members, who have contributed works in watercolor, gouache, oil, acrylic, pen and ink, colored pencil, and graphite pencil. Brooklyn Botanic Garden is grateful for their participation in this exceptional effort.
Please click on the artists' names for short biographical sketches and contact information and to view works created for the Florilegium. For more information about the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society or for permission to reproduce any material on this site, e-mail Patricia Jonas, curator of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Collection. All materials on this website are © by Brooklyn Botanic Garden.