Pierre Joseph Redouté was among the greatest -- perhaps the greatest floral illustrator of all time. He contributed over fifty illustrations to Bonpland’s. Description des plantes rares cultivées á Malmaison et á Navarre. That artists of the age linked with prominent botanists is no surprise, and "Thus Redouté drew under the eyes of L’ Héritier, Desfontains, de Candolle, Vetenanat, Bonpland and Kunth." (2:291)

Redouté used various techniques to produce magnificent works: applying colors to engraving plates separately by hand for superior printed illustrations; brushing each printed illustration with final touches of color for vibrancy; and using subtle graduations of color with occasional strokes of stronger body color in paintings. Rembrandt’s use of enlightened tonal subtleties in portraiture was caught by Redouté in floral illustration.

Pierre was born in 1759, into a family of church artists in the small Belgian village of St. Hubert. They had a hard time of it financially, so to reduce his parent’s burden and seek his fortune as a painter, Pierre left the nest at the tender age of 13. For the next decade the young itinerant artist took to the road, following in his father’s footsteps, decorating churches and occasionally painting an aristocrat’s portrait.

This man who loved flowers had dreamed of life in Paris. When a letter arrived from his brother inviting Pierre to join him in the "City of Lights," his dream came true. Antoine-Ferdinand wanted Pierre’s assistance in decorating a new theatre. Now Pierre could concentrate on flowers, spending practically all his spare time painting blooms in the King’s Garden. One day Pierre met Charles L’Héritier, prominent magistrate and botanist who became his teacher, benefactor, and friend. It was L’Héritier who taught him to balance artistry with scientific reality, and first published his illustrations.

His reputation as a gifted painter grew, eventually attracting the attention of Queen Marie-Antoinette, who chose him to decorate the walls of her own small palace with his exceptionally beautiful floral pictures. But these were tumultuous times, and soon France was overtaken by Revolutionaries who put the regents in prison to await the guillotine. Then a curious thing happened. Late one night, Pierre was summoned to Marie’s cell. She asked him to do a painting of her favorite cactus plant due to flower on the stroke of twelve. Pierre captured the lovely bloom in watercolor and departed, having seen Marie for the last time.

While painting for Les Liliacées, one of his most famous works, the Empress Josephine invited Pierre to paint pictures for Malmaison, the Bonaparte’s country palace. Impressed with his artistry, she designated him "Painter to the Empress," and attached to it a generous annual retainer. Redouté was now among France’s top artists. The first installment of Les Liliacées was a financial and artistic success. He purchased a country home, and moved his wife, Marie-Martha and their daughter Josephine into a tasteful city apartment with a well-lit studio for the artist and spacious rooms for the family.

Wealthy ladies flocked to the studio for lessons from the master to enhance their refinement, if not their artistic gifts. There was plenty of money, and despite Marie-Martha’s protests, he spent lavishly. Pierre also was generous, perhaps to a fault, but nothing was put aside for a rainy day. Unwittingly the seeds of financial disaster were being sewn, as Redouté became the victim of shifting political scenes, his unfailing generosity, and especially his naïveté in money management. The family would pay heavily for this.

Pierre began work on Les Roses. It was destined to be his premier achievement--a collection of gorgeous illustrations of his favorite flower. The project reunited Pierre and Josephine through his frequent visits to the rose gardens at Malmaison. A rose lover like Pierre, Josephine delighted in adding new plants that became available. On a visit to the garden one day, he was devastated to learn of Josephine’s death the previous evening. Although her heirs invited Pierre to remian official painter at Malmaison, they were forced to cancel his annual retainer.

Redouté was plagued with money problems: the ministry grant for the final installment of Les Liliacées was cut by half; financing Les Roses by himself was too expensive, forcing him to contract with a professional publisher and give up some of his rights; and, the family’s unpaid bills were mounting. To get the ready cash he needed, Pierre mortgaged the country home. But this was not the end of it. There also were problems with Les Roses. The large-format edition was an artistic triumph, but a dismal financial failure. So high were production costs that even the nobility could not afford to purchase it. Later, a small-format edition followed which was popular and affordable, but paradoxically only around 250 sets were published. Pierre then discovered that the wrong names for new plants were used in the first installments of the book, and botanists criticized him for this blatant mistake.

The situation went from bad to worse. He was forced to sell some prized-pieces from his furniture collection; and worse, he had to part with some of his original paintings, including those for Les Roses. Unfortunately this yielded only enough income to pay the Redouté’s most pressing bills.

When things were darkest, two distinguished honors were bestowed on Redouté. King Charles X awarded him the French Medal of Honor in 1825, and later at age 74, Pierre received the Distinguished Order from King Leopold of Belgium. Coming from his native land, this must have touched him deeply.

At 81, Pierre was still in his studio painting flowers and tutoring students, but late one evening in 1840, his life ended as he was correcting a student’s painting. And so this humble, gifted man, who wanted nothing more from life than to paint flowers, was laid to rest.