The power of flowers. Pierre-Joseph Redouté

Pierre-Joseph Redouté - often called the Raphael of Flowers - reached a zenith in flower painting, at the juncture between science and fine arts. He became a model, still celebrated today for the elegance and accuracy of his interpretation of the new flora that appeared in gardens between the end of the Ancien Regime and the first half of the 19th century. 

Thanks to the generosity of the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, the Musée de la Vie romantique is organising the first exhibition in France dedicated to Pierre-Joseph Redouté and his influence.

The botanical painter contributed to the golden era of natural science and worked with the greatest botanists of his time. He responded to their requirement of classification and identification of the plants collected over five continents – reproducing them in watercolour on precious vellums with unequaled scientific accuracy and artistic talent.

He was appointed painter to Empress Joséphine and Queen Marie- Amélie and was also an engraver, a publisher and a teacher.

More than 250 paintings, watercolours, art objects and vellums belonging to many French public collections (Musée du Louvre, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Musée de Grenoble, Musée Fabre de Montpellier…) will be presented in a hanging renewed over three “seasons” because of their fragility.