Dr. Robert John Thornton Still-life Prints

Aquatint and mezzotint, printed in colours and finished by hand, heightened with gum arabic, from The Temple of Flora. Framed and glazed. London, 1...

Magnificent print by Robert John Thornton. Aquatint and mezzotint, printed in colour and finished by hand, heightened with gum arabic, from The Temple of Flora. [London 1799] First state. Thornton was a prolific medical author and Doctor of Medicine, practicing at St Andrews University and licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians. However, he is best remembered for this great botanical publication The Temple of Flora, which formed a part of the larger work - New Illustration of the Sexual system of Linnaeus. In 1797, he also began advertising for subscribers to his planned natural history publishing venture, which eventually comprised of 30 folio botanical plates. For these remarkable illustrations, he engaged the services of the leading artists and engravers of his day: Sir William Beechey, James Opie, Henry Raeburn, John Russell, Philip Reinagle and others as painters; Francesco Bartolozzi, Richard Earlom and John Landseer. Most of the images were painted by Peter Charles Henderson and Philip Reinagle. These botanical illustrations are unique as they were the first flower prints with landscape backgrounds, depicting the natural habitat of the plant. The life-size flowers stand out dramatically and the whole effect is startlingly modern. Thornton's announced intention was to make this work the most magnificent tribute ever paid to the famous Swedish botanist Linnaeus by illustrating his Sexual System with the finest possible prints. All these were engraved on a larger scale than anything which had hitherto appeared and then were printed in colour, an expensive and uncommon method in England at this time. A brilliant effect. This rare and celebrated plate of the Roses...

A magnificent print by Robert John Thornton; aquatint and mezzotint, printed in colour and finished by hand, heightened with gum arabic, from The Temple of Flora...

Magnificent print by Robert John Thornton; aquatint and mezzotint, printed in colour and finished by hand, heightened with gum arabic, from The Temple of Flora. [London 1799] First state. Thornton was a prolific medical author and became a Doctor of Medicine at St Andrews University and licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians. However, he is best remembered for this great botanical publication The Temple of Flora, which formed a part of the larger work - New Illustration of the sexual system of Linnaeus. In 1797, he also began advertising for subscribers to his planned natural history publishing venture, which eventually comprised of 30 folio botanical plates. For these remarkable illustrations, he engaged the services of the leading artists and engravers of his day: Sir William Beechey, James Opie, Henry Raeburn, John Russell, Philip Reinagle...

This is a framed hand-colored botanical engraving entitled "Agave or American Aloe" by Reinagle for Robert Thornton's publication 'The Temple of Flora, or Garden of the Botanist, Poet, Painter and Philosopher', published in London in 1811. This beautiful botanical was created using several engraving techniques, including aquatint, mezzotint, stipple and line engraving methods. It was printed in color and then finished by hand. The print is presented in a gold-colored wood frame and a heather green mat, which is enhanced with a gold fillet. The frame measures 21.63" high by 16.63" wide and 1" deep. It is glazed with UV conservation glass. All of the mounting materials are archival. The original text page from the early 19th century publication is attached to the rear of the frame. The print is in excellent condition. Robert John Thornton (1765-1832) was attracted to natural history at an early edge and created his own botanical garden and an aviary as a boy. He graduated from Cambridge with a medical degree and set up practice as a London. He inherited his family fortune in 1797, which allowed Thornton the opportunity to devote time to his lifelong goal of creating an extensive scholarly work dedicated to the great classical Swedish naturalist, Carolus Von Linnaeus (1707-1778), also known as Carl von Linné...