Erica Fulgida
Medium
Watercolor and graphite on vellum
Dimensions
Sheet: 17 3/4 × 11 3/4 in. (45.1 × 29.8 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Anne H. Bass, 2015
Accession Number
2015.604.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *Erica Fulgida*, a delicate 1813 watercolor and graphite drawing on vellum by Pierre-Joseph Redouté, renowned "Raphael of." This exquisite botanical study captures the vibrant Erica fulgida—a South African heath plant—with Redouté's signature precision and lifelike detail. Measuring 17 3/4 × 11 3/4 inches, it exemplifies his mastery during the Napoleonic era, he documented Empress Joséphine Bonaparte's vast Malmaison greenhouse collections. Redouté's technique stippling—applying tiny dots of watercolor—lends an almost three-dimensional quality to the petals and foliage, enhanced by the...
About the Artist
Pierre Joseph Redouté · 1759–1840
Comment on works: Flowers