The Golden Age of Flowers: Botanical Illustrations in the Age of Discovery 1600-1800

The 17th and 18th centuries saw a flowering of botanical illustration and witnessed the production of some of the greatest books of plant illustration ever produced, including such outstanding examples as the Hortus Eystettensis, the work of Maria Sybilla Merian, Thornton’s Temple of Flora, Banks’ Florilegium and Sibthorpe’s Flora Graeca.

In this beautiful book Celia Fisher has selected over 100 of the most stunning flower images from this period. Each plant has its own brief biography, giving the context in which it was discovered and the personalities who first named and nurtured it. Many of the flowers in the book are now familiar, while others remain very exotic. Some of the illustrations are appealing for their naive delicacy but most have never been superseded in scientific accuracy, and they remain one of the best proofs of art and science as complementary disciplines.