The Bauers: Joseph, Franz & Ferdinand: Masters of Botanical Illustration - Hardcover

Lack, Hans Walter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3791354892 ISBN 13: 9783791354897

Publisher: Prestel, 2015

Synopsis

Filled with stunning 18th- and 19th-century illustrations of plants and other living creatures, this book is the first to bring together the life and art of the three Bauer Brothers, who came to be some of the most celebrated botanical artists of all time. As artists, Joseph, Franz and Ferdinand Bauer were independently successful: Joseph as court painter to the Prince of Lichtenstein; Franz (later Francis) was employed at Kew Gardens as the “Botanick Painter to His Majesty”; and Ferdinand’s seminal collection of 1500 paintings created from

sketches he made traveling in and around Australia is the first detailed account of the natural history of that continent. Drawn from all known worldwide sources of the Bauers’ extant illustrations, this illustrated history of the Bauers and

their work unfolds chronologically, starting with the brothers’ formative years in Feldsberg, Austria, where they produced more than two thousand drawings of plant specimens under the guidance of the local abbot. Learning how to dissect plants as well as how to use microscopes to paint them in intricate detail, the Bauers became well known for their extraordinary precision. Their detailed work, along with their incredibly beautiful and highly developed methods of coloring their paintings, comes to life in numerous superbly reproduced illustrations. A celebration of an indelible body of work, this unique volume recalls the Golden

Age of botanical artistry through the lives and contributions of the renowned Bauer brothers.

About this title

About the Author

HANS WALTER LACK is Director of the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum in Berlin, Germany. He has written extensively about botanical art.

Review

"...Lack has created a compellingly interwoven and valuable resource on the extraordinary life and masterful work of the Bauers, individually and as a family, whose lives and artworks continue to inspire natural history illustrators and researchers."

-Huntia

"This richly illustrated biography of the Bauer brothers offers extensive insight into the lives of these artists and the scientific, social, and political atmosphere in which they worked . . . This hefty volume begins to fill the gaps in understanding these artists, as well as the history and development of natural history illustrations in Europe."

―Choice

About this edition

• Publisher: Prestel
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 3791354892
• ISBN 13: 9783791354897
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 496