Plantae et Papiliones rariores: Martynia

1748

Georg Dionysius Ehret

(German, 1708–1770)

Culture

Germany, 18th century

Medium

engraving, hand-colored

Credit Line

Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1949.414

Catalogue raisonné

Dunthorne 109 (1)

State

I/I

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

Not on view

Description

Georg Ehret met Carolus Linnaeus in 1736. The dominant botanical artist in the mid-18th century, Ehret settled in England where the nobility clamored to receive his instruction. He commented in his autobiography, “If I could have divided myself into twenty parts I could still have had my hands full.” Ehret struck a fine compromise between the artist and the scientist. “While he did not slavishly imitate what he saw, neither did he allow his feeling for the color and design of flowers distract him from the fundamentals of plant structure,” confirms Wilfrid Blunt, author of The Art of Botanical Illustration. Ehret’s crisp forms betray a sureness of touch, vigor of handling, and unerring instinct for design.