What's the difference between botanical art and flower painting?

Those new to botanical art are often unfamiliar with the differences between ​botanical illustration, botanical art and flower painting.

This post provides:

• a brief introduction to an explanation of the differences and where you can find more information on this topic
• how the differences between botanical illustration and botanical art developed over time

What's the difference between ​botanical art, botanical illustration and flower painting?

On my website I have a page called What is Botanical Art?

At the top of the page there is a summary of the differences between:

• botanical illustration - where the emphasis is on the identification of species and support for the scientific perspective and publication - hence an emphasis on monochrome illustrations
• botanical art - which has aesthetic appeal and is always botanically accurate in terms of scale, form, structure and colour and might include the portrayal of habitat. However it is not always as complete as a scientific botanical illustration.
• flower painting - which is much more about the creation of an aesthetically pleasing painting and is much less about botanical accuracy and plant identification.

Further down the page, I expand on

• The Science of Botanical Illustration
  
• The Artistry of Botanical Art

which cites definitions used for botanical illustration and botanical art - including those used by the RHS, ASBA and BAC. I also include links to other parts of the website which provide further information to support those who want to learn more about, for example, scientific botanical illustration.

How do you describe the differences between botanical art and illustration?

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What's the History of Botanical Art?

 What is Botanical Art? also provides an introduction to the history of the development of botanical art and illustration and why these differences exist. It provides:

• an overview of the history of the development of botanical art
• highlighting the role of Herbals; the Age of Discovery - and the work done by botanical artists on voyages of exploration and discovery over the years; the role of Gardens and the Florilegium and finally the development of Contemporary Botanical Art in the twentieth century.
• summarising the role played by key individuals as patrons or painters in developing both the science and artistry of botanical art and illustration. Most of these individuals have a dedicated page on this website where you can find out more about their contribution. (just tap the link in their names to view their page)​.

P. sukhakulii, C. lindeniana [Paphiopedilum and Cypripedium] (Watercolour on paper, 1989) © Estate of Pandora Sellars. Courtesy of RHS Library Collections

One of the important artists who contributed to the development of contemporary botanical art is Pandora Sellars - who worked as a botanical illustrator for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and designed her complex compositions as a trained artist.

She excelled at developing new ways to design botanical paintings to help understand the colour and form of plants in terms of both their flowers and leaves - and has influenced many botanical artists as a result.

I'm very pleased to announce that the Estate of Pandora Sellars and the RHS have given me permission to use an image of the orchid painting which is now part of the RHS Lindley Library Collection on this website. You can see it above. ​ I'm guessing it will be the first view of this work for many people. To my mind, it's a perfect example of how it is possible to combine botanical illustration and botanical art!

Enjoy!
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