EARLY 19TH CENTURY GILTWOOD FRAMED AQUATINT ENGRAVING, DR. ROBERT JOHN THORNTON, QUANDRANGULAR PASSION FLOWER.Dr Robert John Thornton (English, 1768-1837) Published by Dr. Thornton, 1802. Giltwood framed, of the period stipple and aquatint engraving having original color, titled The Quandrangular Passion Flower, professionally framed in giltwood moulding with matboard and uv plexiglass (#33225.2)
'When Dr. Robert Thornton inherited the family fortune in 1797, he left his medical practice to indulge his lifelong passion for botany. Thornton, determined to surpass the Germans in scholarship and the French in printing artistry, planned a book of philosophic and literary distinction, illustrated by some of the best painters working in Britain. In homage to the great Swedish naturalist, it was titled The Temple of Flora, or Garden of Nature, Picturesque Botanical Plates of the new Illustration of the Sexual System of Linnaeus. The first sections appeared in 1799 and the volume was completed in 1807. The edition was comprised of of thirty one plates and was the first to depict plants in true scale and placed in its 'natural habitat' For the plates, Thornton commissioned a few artists (Sydenham, Edwards and James Sowerby) who specialized in botanical work, as well as well-known painters such as Abraham 'Moonlight' Pether. The majority of designs were executed by Peter Henderson and Philip Reinagle. ' - Image size: 18 1/2" high x 14 3/8" wide. Framed: 31 3/8" high x 25 5/8" wide. Estimate $2,500-3,500
Provenance: The Old Print Gallery, Washington, DC.
Good color and impression. Archivally framed with matboard and uv plexiglass.
