More or less contemporaries of Reddout in France, produced the greatest English colored plate floral books. Produced by Reddot under the patronage of Herittier, Marie Antoinette, Queen Josephine, Charles X and the Duchess of Berry, Thornton set out to do it alone. Did the result be an almost complete failure? His property was swallowed up and his family fell into poverty. Thornton's otherworldly and unwise approach to publishing is easy to surprise... But he made... This is the prettiest flower ever in the UK and one of the cutest books in the world.
Robert John Thornton
Robert John Thornton, the son of Benel Thornton, known for his wit, humor, and literary achievements, was a translator of Platos. After a good basic education, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, where he received his medical degree in 1793. He then visited Edinburgh, Dublin, and Paris. Beginning in 1797, he practiced law in the capital, where he had some conflict of opinion with Dr. Beddos, who worked mainly on "artificial air", and he and his other brother showed the wonders of artificial air in public. This caused dissatisfaction among them. On 4 November 1805 he received his M.D. from the University of St. Andrew and on 6 January 1812 he was licensed by the College of Physicians. Dr. Thornton died on 21 January 1837 on Howland Street in Fitzroy Square.
Robert John Thornton (1768-1837)
The masterpiece that bankrupted him, "Temple of Flowers"
Later in his life, Thornton recalled that the idea of his great cause was conceived in 1791. When Robert Thornton was at Trinity College, Cambridge, he found inspiration from Thomas Martin's lectures on botany and switched to studying medicine. He continued to teach medical botany at Guy Hospital.
As explorers travel around the world and exotic plant species from around the world are brought back to Europe, there is a growing interest in collecting plants of new species. And increased the excitement of new discoveries around the plant. Thornton began planning New Illustrations of Carl Linnaeus' Plant System in 1797. It is considered a patriotic work that expresses the artistic superiority of the British over the French, while celebrating the "philosophy of botany" and the Linnaean classification system. This work consists of three parts:
Part I: A paper on the sexual reproduction cycle of plants;
Part II: Explanation of Linnaeus' plant system, numerous botanists and portraits of botanists;
Part III: The Temple of Flora, with no less than 70 exotic plant species arranged according to Linnaeus' taxonomic system, each with a background corresponding to its native environment, was published in 1807.
The production of Temple of Plants involved a variety of techniques – intaglio copperplate engraving, metal engraving, dot engraving and line engraving or etching , which required the involvement of a large number of artists. Artists invited by Thornton included: Philip Raynagar, who completed most of his preparatory paintings— Abraham Pesser (known for his melancholy quasi-Gothic landscapes), Sidnam Edwards and Peter Henderson, as well as sculptors Richard Erlom, James Chardwall and Thomas Burke. One of the metal plates of roses was painted by Thornton.
Despite the use of a large number of artists and sculptors, Thornton managed to put the flowers and their native environment "in a style of extraordinary homogeneity". On May 1, 1798, Medran carved the first plate of tulips and aloe vera from Reinegger's paintings. Between 1798 and 1807, thirty-three original paintings from famous British artists, particularly evocative color plates, were engraved, printed, embellished and line engraved. Initially, Thornton intended to issue 70 colorful flowers.
However, the production process was too long and intermittent, resulting in deformation of the painting text and metal plates, which needed to be remade. In 1803, Thornton opened a gallery in London. There he exhibited the original paintings and catalogues of the Temple of Flowers. His goal was to promote engraved prints at publication and release. But at this point he received terrible comments: In 1808, Sir Joseph Banks, the famous explorer and the first unofficial director of Kew, wrote: "I cannot say that botany continues to be as popular as it used to be. ”
Thornton should have pulled out when he was ahead. But he desperately continued to fund his work on floral and plant systems. To fight for money, he embarked on his wildest plan. He applied for and obtained a parliamentary license to operate the lottery. As a prize, he produced a miniature version of the Temple of Flowers, and the first prize gave him all the contents of the edition. The lottery failed to attract recipients, Thornton died of poverty, and his dream of flowers was financially destroyed.
Thornton was economically devastated by the setbacks of war and changing tastes. These proved to be temporary setbacks, and his great work continued to be "an enduring heirloom of the British nation".
For his contributions to English botanical illustration, Thornton was likened by Alan Thomas to Reddout:
More or less contemporaries of Reddout in France, produced the greatest English colored plate floral books. Produced by Reddot under the patronage of Herittier, Marie Antoinette, Queen Josephine, Charles X and the Duchess of Berry, Thornton set out to do it alone. Did the result be an almost complete failure? His property was swallowed up and his family fell into poverty. Thornton's otherworldly and unwise approach to publishing is easy to surprise... But he made... This is the prettiest flower ever in the UK and one of the cutest books in the world.
Carl Linnaeus, dressed in the traditional costume of the Sapiens of Lapland, designed the sexual system of plant classification in 1750-1768
Not surprisingly, religious and conservative groups are starting to sound the alarm. Published in 1768 by Edinburgh Calvinists, the Encyclopædia Britannica opposed Linnaeus' "obscene and disgusting brushstrokes" that denigrated the image of nature's innocent beauties. Even Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a radical French philosopher and passionate advocate of the new system, cautiously warned the young daughter in his Botanical Newsletter that the secret scale of plants was excessive and "inappropriate for her age and gender."
The shrine of flowers is stunning
Flora is the goddess of crops and flowering plants, and also the goddess of fertility in ancient Rome, where ancient Roman emperors specially built temples and festivals as a memorial. It was reinvented countless times by artists in Pompeii, Renaissance Italy, and in the era in which Thornton lived and followed. In Thornton's work, Wing Ran uses The Temple of Flora to celebrate these exquisite flowers. Flowers are the reproductive organs of plants, and the open flowers are also a tribute to the sexual reproduction of plants. Some people also commented that this is floral, sexy science.
Temple of Flowers Illustration: Flora scatters gifts on the earth
Temple of Flowers Illustration: Cupid inspires the love of plants
The Quadrangular Passion Flower, Passion Flower, Passion Flower,
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: Large Flowering Sensitive Plant
The Maggot–Bearing Stapelia
The Sacred Egyptian Bean, Egyptian Lotus
Temple of Flowers Illustration: Tulips, Tulips
Temple of Flowers Illustration: The Dragon Arum, Dragon Seaweed
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: The Narrow–Leaved Kalmia
The Blue Egyptian Water-Lily, Egyptian Blue Lotus
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: A Group of Auriculas
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: Hyacinths, Hyacinth
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: The Superb Lily, Lily
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The Night–Blowing Cereus, the flowering cactus
Temple of Flowers, Illustrator: A Group of Carnations, Caryophyllum
Temple of Flowers Illustration: Pitcher Plant, Cordyceps
The Chinese Limodoron, introduced from China
The Temple of Flowers, Illustrator: The Passiflora Cerulea, Passionflower?
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: The Nodding Renealmia
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: The Queen–Plant
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: American Bog Plants
The Pontic Rhododendron, Pontiac Rhododendron, Pontiac Rhododendron
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: Roses, Rose
The American Cowslip, American Yellow Flower Nine-Wheeled Grass
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: A Group of Auriculas
Temple of Flowers Illustrator: The Aloe
Read further
“Sex and Science in Robert Thornton’s Temple of Flora“, Dr, Martin Kemp, Professor Emeritus of the History of Art; Honorary Fellow, Trinity College, Oxford, The Audubon House Gallery of Natural History website, Wikepedia & the Bio Diversity Heritage Library.
https://lustandfound.co/2021/04/05/sex-science-flowers-in-robert-john-thorntons-epic-temple-of-flora/
https://artvee.com/books/the-temple-of-flora/page/1/
https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/inspiring-physicians/robert-john-thornton
https://aradergalleries.com/collections/robert-john-thornton-1768-1837
https://thedailygardener.org/otb20200121/