American Turk's-cap lily (Lilium superbum)
Watercolour
1740s (painted)
1740s (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Ehret was one of the greatest botanical illustrators working in the 18th century. He supplied illustrations for a number of important botanical publications. He was also closely involved in publicising and promoting the binomial system of plant classification that was devised by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus.
Ehret painted this plant study in the 1740s, at the height of his mature style. We do not know the precise date, but a near identical version is dated 1745. In the text Ehret notes that ‘this lily first flowered in August 1738’, in the garden of Peter Collinson. Collinson was an avid collector of new plants, and lived just outside London. Ehret often studied plants in his collection. Dr C. J. Trew reproduced a version of this picture in his book Plantae Selectae, which he published in Nuremberg between 1750 and 1773.
Ehret painted this plant study in the 1740s, at the height of his mature style. We do not know the precise date, but a near identical version is dated 1745. In the text Ehret notes that ‘this lily first flowered in August 1738’, in the garden of Peter Collinson. Collinson was an avid collector of new plants, and lived just outside London. Ehret often studied plants in his collection. Dr C. J. Trew reproduced a version of this picture in his book Plantae Selectae, which he published in Nuremberg between 1750 and 1773.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | American Turk's-cap lily (Lilium superbum) (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour and bodycolour on vellum |
| Brief description | Watercolour by G.D. Ehret depicting Turk's-cap lily, 1740s |
| Physical description | Watercolour drawing |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Georg Dionysius Ehret 1708-70
American Turk's-cap Lily ('Lilium superbum')
1740s
The Linnaean system depended on the flower and an enumeration of the stamens and pistils. Ehret has thus chosen to show only the flower-spike, ignoring the rest of the plant. He has painted it in almost 'trompe l'oeil' detail, from every angle, in bud and in full bloom. It is thus possible to classify the lily from the illustration alone.
Probably London
Watercolour and bodycolour on vellum
V&A: D.589-1886 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Ehret was one of the greatest botanical illustrators working in the 18th century. He supplied illustrations for a number of important botanical publications. He was also closely involved in publicising and promoting the binomial system of plant classification that was devised by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. Ehret painted this plant study in the 1740s, at the height of his mature style. We do not know the precise date, but a near identical version is dated 1745. In the text Ehret notes that ‘this lily first flowered in August 1738’, in the garden of Peter Collinson. Collinson was an avid collector of new plants, and lived just outside London. Ehret often studied plants in his collection. Dr C. J. Trew reproduced a version of this picture in his book Plantae Selectae, which he published in Nuremberg between 1750 and 1773. |
| Associated object | E.916-1924 (Reproduction) |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | D.589-1886 |
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| Record created | December 23, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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