Greatest 19th-century British botanist, Joseph Dalton Hooker, travelled to Sikkim, India in the 1840s as part of a botanical expedition in the regions of India, Nepal and Tibet. On his return he published the Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya (1849) which was an exception to the rest of his scientific publications: it contained a number of botanical paintings that showed Himalayan plants, including new exotic species of rhododendrons, in their natural habitat.
These historical drawings of rhododendrons created a sensation and started the rhododendron craze in Britain. Hooker’s Rhododendrons contain some of the best examples of the work of Walter Hood Fitch (1817-1892), the renowned botanical artist whose career was inseparable from Hooker’s. From the 4.5meter-high Rhododendron lanatum to the 9-meter high R. Barbatum, Fitch and Hooker produced some of the finest historical drawings and memorable paintings of rhododendrons.
Historical Drawings of Rhododendrons by Walter Fitch
Fitch drew most of the Himalayan plants either from dried specimens or from field sketches mostly done by Hooker in the case of the Rhododendrons of Sikkim Himalaya. When the first the botanical paintings produced by Fitch reached Hooker who was stationed at Darjeeling at the time, the famous botanist was delighted.
What are today considered historical drawings of rhododendrons or other Himalayan plants were not done from live plants. It was considered that a good drawing should combine characteristics of a few specimens rather than being a portrait of one plant only. Fitch did not often use live plants and for example the Rhododendron arboretum was drawn by making use of a number of specimens.
Botanical Paintings of Rhododendrons and Himalayan Plants
A master of plant anatomy with a keen eye for detail and expert in plant dissection, Fitch produced some of the most memorable historical drawings of rhododendrons. He has been described as having “the greatest competence of any painter who has yet appeared in drawing the rhododendron” (Flower Book 1990). After the Rhododendrons of Sikkim, Fitch produced 24 hand coloured lithographed plates for Hooker’s Illustrations of Himalayan Plants.
For the Illustrations he used James F. Cathart’s series of drawings and those of native artists – a series of some 1,000 botanical paintings – to produce some of his most spectacular work. Fitch corrected the “stiffness and want of botanical knowledge” of native artists and also worked on a number of Hooker’s sketches of alpine plants of Himalaya. Hooker was stunned by Fitch’s work and praised it as unrivalled and appealing to lovers of art and horticulture alike. The historical drawings of rhododendrons and botanical paintings of Himalayan plants by Fitch and Hooker are held in Kew Gardens, London.
Related Articles
- On the Rhododendron see the Rhododendron Species: Botanical Plant Profile of Rhododendrons
- Online Resources of Botanical Art: Botany Illustrations and Antique Flower Prints
- India Adventure Trip, Sikkim and Rhododendrons: Botanical Treks of Joseph Dalton Hooker in the Himalayas on Suite101
- Walter Fitch, Drawing Master of Botanical Art: Flower Paintings or How to Draw Prints on Suite101
Sources
- Jim Endersby, Imperial Nature: Joseph Hooker and the Practices of Victorian Science, University of Chicago Press 2008. An excellent book from which a lot of information was drawn for this article.
- "Popular Botany in the 19th century" in King's College London website (accessed 15 Oct. 2009).
- Donald A. Heald, Rare Books, website accessed Oct. 2009.
- Journal American Rhododendron Society online, Oct. 2009
- Donald A. Heald, Rare Books, website accessed Oct. 2009.
- Journal American Rhododendron Society online, Oct. 2009
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