The Beauty of the Flower: The Art and Science of Botanical Illustration

Blooming with rare archival images, the story of scientific botanical illustrations over nearly seven hundred years.

In a world flooded with images designed to create memories, validate perceptions, and influence others, botanical illustration is about something much more focused: creating technically accurate depictions of plants. Reproductions of centuries-old botanical illustrations frequently adorn greeting cards, pottery, and advertising, to promote heritage or generate income, yet their art is scientific: intended to record, display, and transmit scientific data. The Beauty of the Flower tells the backstory of these images, showing us how scientific botanical illustrations are collaborations among artists, scientists, and publishers. It explores the evolution and interchanges of these illustrations since the mid-fifteenth century, how they have been used to communicate scientific ideas about plants, and how views of botanical imagery change. Featuring unique images rarely seen outside of specialist literature, this book reveals the fascinating stories behind these remarkable illustrations.


About the Author
Stephen A. Harris is associate professor of plant sciences and curator of the herbarium at the University of Oxford. His books include Sunflowers, also published by Reaktion Books, and Roots to Seeds: 400 Years of Oxford Botany.