Étienne Pierre Ventenat
Encyclopedia
Étienne Pierre Ventenat was a French botanist born in Limoges
. He was the brother of naturalist
Louis Ventenat
(1765–1794).
While employed as director of the ecclesiastic library Sainte-Geneviève in Paris
, Ventenat took a trip to England. Here he visited its the country's botanical gardens, which inspired him to pursue a vocation in sciences. Later he studied under and collaborated with botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle
(1746–1800). In 1795 he was elected a member of the Institut national des sciences et des arts, later known as the Académie des sciences.
In 1794 he wrote a treatise on the principles of botany titled Principes de botanique, expliqués au Lycée républicain par Ventenat. After publication he became so disappointed with its mediocrity that he reportedly made efforts to procure all copies of the book and have them destroyed. In 1798 he published a French translation of Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu's Genera plantarum as Tableau du règne végétal selon la méthode de Jussieu. In his translation of the work, Ventenat added information involving the properties and uses of plants.
In 1799 he published Description des plantes nouvelles et peu connues, cultivées dans le jardin de J.-M. Cels, which described flora in the botanical garden of Jacques Philippe Martin Cels
(1740–1806), and in 1803 he published Le Jardin de la Malmaison, which he wrote at the request of Joséphine de Beauharnais
(1763–1814), who wished to immortalize the rare species of plants found in the gardens and greenhouses of Château de Malmaison
. The illustrations in the two aforementioned works were performed by famed botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté
(1759–1840). Ventenat is also credited with continuing the work on Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard
's Histoire des champignons de la France, which was a landmark work on mushroom
s native to France.
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
. He was the brother of naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
Louis Ventenat
Louis Ventenat
Louis Ventenat was a French Catholic priest and naturalist who was born in Limoges. He was the brother of botanist Étienne Pierre Ventenat ....
(1765–1794).
While employed as director of the ecclesiastic library Sainte-Geneviève in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Ventenat took a trip to England. Here he visited its the country's botanical gardens, which inspired him to pursue a vocation in sciences. Later he studied under and collaborated with botanist Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle
Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle
Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle was an 18th century French botanist and magistrate. Born into an affluent upper-class Parisian family, connections with the French Royal Court secured him the position of Superindent of Parisian Waters and Forests at the age of twenty-six...
(1746–1800). In 1795 he was elected a member of the Institut national des sciences et des arts, later known as the Académie des sciences.
In 1794 he wrote a treatise on the principles of botany titled Principes de botanique, expliqués au Lycée républicain par Ventenat. After publication he became so disappointed with its mediocrity that he reportedly made efforts to procure all copies of the book and have them destroyed. In 1798 he published a French translation of Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu's Genera plantarum as Tableau du règne végétal selon la méthode de Jussieu. In his translation of the work, Ventenat added information involving the properties and uses of plants.
In 1799 he published Description des plantes nouvelles et peu connues, cultivées dans le jardin de J.-M. Cels, which described flora in the botanical garden of Jacques Philippe Martin Cels
Jacques Philippe Martin Cels
Jacques Philippe Martin Cels was a French botanist specializing in horticulture.Cels was born in Versailles. He was a duty collector at the gates of Paris. Ruined when the French Revolution abolished his position, he started a botanical garden in which he cultivated foreign plants for sale,...
(1740–1806), and in 1803 he published Le Jardin de la Malmaison, which he wrote at the request of Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...
(1763–1814), who wished to immortalize the rare species of plants found in the gardens and greenhouses of Château de Malmaison
Château de Malmaison
The Château de Malmaison is a country house in the city of Rueil-Malmaison about 12 km from Paris.It was formerly the residence of Joséphine de Beauharnais, and with the Tuileries, was from 1800 to 1802 the headquarters of the French government.-History:Joséphine de Beauharnais bought the...
. The illustrations in the two aforementioned works were performed by famed botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté , was a Belgian painter and botanist, known for his watercolours of roses, lilies and other flowers at Malmaison. He was nicknamed "The Raphael of flowers"....
(1759–1840). Ventenat is also credited with continuing the work on Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard
Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard
Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard was a French physician and botanist....
's Histoire des champignons de la France, which was a landmark work on mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s native to France.