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GEORG DIONYSIUS EHRET Georg Ehret was the dominant influence in botanical art during the middle years of the 18th century, his greatest merit is that he succeeded as few other botanical artists have succeeded; in being at once both botanist and artist' (Great Flower Books, p. 331). Rightly his work is highly prized today both for its botanical accuracy and aesthetic appeal. His career as a botanical artist began while working as a gardener for the Margrave of Baden Durlach at Karlsruhe, Ehret assisted the botanical watercolourist, August Wilhelm Sievert in preparing his paints. This inspired Ehret to execute his own plant portraits which he presented to his employer. Ehret decided to pursue his talent for botanical painting and in 1733 he arrived in Nuremberg where he met Dr. Christoph Jakob Trew (1695-1769), who was to become his life-long friend and most influential patron. Between 1734 and 1735 Ehret had a brief sojourn in Paris, where he must have seen some of the Vélins du Roi and, if not those at the Louvre, then at least those being worked on by his contemporaries. Ehret was impressed by the superior qualities of vellum over paper, and adopted watercolour and later bodycolour on vellum as his preferred medium. In 1836 he settled in England remaining there for the rest of his life as botanical artist and drawing master. His reputation was extended by the publication of various flower books based on his drawings: Dr. Trew's Plantae selectae, 1750-1773 and Hortus Nitidissimus, 1750-1786 are the two florilegia for which he is best remembered. However, Gerta Calmann maintains that his original drawings 'were the true expression of his genius' (Calmann, Ehret Flower painter extraordinary 1977 p. 99).

Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770)

Haworthia retusa

Details

Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770)
Haworthia retusa
signed 'G.D. Ehret.' (lower right) and inscribed 'ALOE Africana brevissimo, crassissimoque folio, flore subviridi.' (lower centre)
pencil and watercolour, on paper heightened with white, watermark Strasburg lily
20 7/8 x 14 5/8 in. (530 x 372mm.)

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Lot Essay

The Haworthia was named in honour of Adrian Hardy Haworth (1768-1833), an English authority on succulent plants. A native of South Africa, the plant was originally placed amongst the genus Aloe but was later separated because of its two-lipped flower.
Succulents were a favorite subject of Ehret's, perhaps because he had perfected the rendering of the smooth surface of the fleshy leaves.

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