Georg Dionysius Ehret
Encyclopedia
Georg Dionysius Ehret was a botanist and entomologist, and is best known for his botanical illustrations
.
Ehret was born in Germany
to Ferdinand Christian Ehret, a gardener and competent draughtsman, and Anna Maria Ehret. Beginning his working life as a gardener's apprentice near Heidelberg
, he became one of the most influential European botanical artists of all time. His first illustrations were in collaboration with Carl Linnaeus and George Clifford
in 1735-1736. Clifford, a wealthy Dutch banker and governor of the Dutch East India Company
was a keen botanist with a large herbarium
. He had the income to attract the talents of botanists such as Linnaeus and artists like Ehret. Together at the Clifford estate, Hartecamp, which is located south of Haarlem
in Heemstede
near Bennebroek
, they produced Hortus Cliffortianus
in 1738, a masterpiece of early botanical literature.
As a result of exploitation by Johann Wilhelm Weinmann
, Ehret finished only 500 plates of a 1,000 plate commission and moved to England
where he illustrated many of the more spectacular plants that were in cultivation. His original art work may be found at the Natural History Museum
in London, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
, The Royal Society, London, the Lindley Library at the Royal Horticultural Society
, the Victoria and Albert Museum
, and at the University Library of Erlangen
.
The genus Ehretia
was named in his honour.
Botanical illustrator
A botanical illustrator is a person who paints, sketches or otherwise illustrates botanical subjects such as trees and flowers. The job requires great artistic skill, attention to fine detail, and technical botanical knowledge...
.
Ehret was born in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to Ferdinand Christian Ehret, a gardener and competent draughtsman, and Anna Maria Ehret. Beginning his working life as a gardener's apprentice near Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, he became one of the most influential European botanical artists of all time. His first illustrations were in collaboration with Carl Linnaeus and George Clifford
George Clifford III
George Clifford III was a wealthy Dutch banker and one of the directors of the Dutch East India Company. He is known for his keen interest in plants and gardens...
in 1735-1736. Clifford, a wealthy Dutch banker and governor of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
was a keen botanist with a large herbarium
Herbarium
In botany, a herbarium – sometimes known by the Anglicized term herbar – is a collection of preserved plant specimens. These specimens may be whole plants or plant parts: these will usually be in a dried form, mounted on a sheet, but depending upon the material may also be kept in...
. He had the income to attract the talents of botanists such as Linnaeus and artists like Ehret. Together at the Clifford estate, Hartecamp, which is located south of Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
in Heemstede
Heemstede
Heemstede is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-History :Heemstede formed around the Castle Heemstede that was built on the Spaarne River around 1286. Before 1296, Floris V, Count of Holland, granted Heemstede as a fiefdom to Reinier of Holy...
near Bennebroek
Bennebroek
Bennebroek is a town and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland, now part of Bloemendaal municipality. Before its merger, it was the smallest municipality in the Netherlands, covering an area of only 1.75 km².-History:...
, they produced Hortus Cliffortianus
Hortus Cliffortianus
The Hortus Cliffortianus is a work of early botanical literature published in 1738.The work was a collaboration between Carl Linnaeus and Georg Dionysius Ehret, financed by George Clifford in 1735-1736. Clifford, a wealthy Amsterdam banker was a keen botanist with a large herbarium and governor of...
in 1738, a masterpiece of early botanical literature.
As a result of exploitation by Johann Wilhelm Weinmann
Johann Wilhelm Weinmann
Johann Wilhelm Weinmann , apothecary and botanist, is noted for his creation of the florilegium Phytanthoza iconographia between 1737 and 1745, an ambitious project which resulted in eight folio volumes with more than 1 000 hand-coloured engravings of several thousand plants.He was born in...
, Ehret finished only 500 plates of a 1,000 plate commission and moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where he illustrated many of the more spectacular plants that were in cultivation. His original art work may be found at the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
in London, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
, The Royal Society, London, the Lindley Library at the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
, the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, and at the University Library of Erlangen
Erlangen
Erlangen is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the confluence of the river Regnitz and its large tributary, the Untere Schwabach.Erlangen has more than 100,000 inhabitants....
.
The genus Ehretia
Ehretia
Ehretia is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 50 species. The generic name honors German botanical illustrator Georg Dionysius Ehret .-Selected species:*Ehretia acuminata R.Br...
was named in his honour.
Works
- Methodus plantarum sexualis (1736)
- Hortus nitidissimis (in 3 volumes, 1750-1786)
- The Natural History of Barbados,, Griffith HughesGriffith HughesThe Reverend Griffith Hughes , FRS, was a naturalist and author. Hughes wrote The Natural History of Barbados, which included the first description of the grapefruit...
, 1750. - Plantae et papiliones rariores. This was published in parts from 1748 until 1759 in folio. The eighteen plates were engraved and hand-colored by Ehret himself. Most display a combination of one or more species of plants and of butterflies.
- Illustrations for Plantae selectae by Christoph Jakob Trew. Another copy of Plantae selectae at Missouri Botanical Gardens.
- Illustrations for Hortus Kewensis by William AitonWilliam AitonWilliam Aiton was a Scottish botanist.Aiton was born near Hamilton. Having been regularly trained to the profession of a gardener, he travelled to London in 1754, and became assistant to Philip Miller, then superintendent of the Chelsea Physic Garden...
(in 3 volumes, 1789) - Illustrations for Patrick BrownePatrick BrownePatrick Browne was an Irish physician and botanist.-Career:Browne was born in Woodstock, County Mayo, sent to relatives on Antigua in 1737 and returned to Europe due to ill health after two years. He studied medicine, natural history and especially botany at Reims, Paris and Leyden, qualifying...
's spectacular The Civil and Natural History of JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in three parts published in 1756.
External links
Further reading
- de Bray, Lys (2001). "Georg Dionysius Ehret — 1708-70." In: The Art of Botanical Illustration: A history of classic illustrators and their achievements, pp. 107-119. Quantum Publishing Ltd., London. ISBN 1-86160-425-4.