Robert John Thornton

1768–1837

Thornton wanted his botanical work to evoke emotions and a sense of wonder in the viewer without losing scientific accuracy. He was the first to take the beauty of the plant to a higher pedestal.

Because his work is based on the sexual system of plants devised by Carolus von Linnaeus, for this tableau I zoom in on the flower organs carefully depicted by Thornton. These are the stamens (male) and the pistils (female), or the core of the reproduction of plants and flowers.

To make it complete, I alternated the floral organs with the beautifully colored leaves of the blue Egyptian water lily (Nymphaea Courulea), which symbolizes the fertility of the earth with its vigor.

Linnaeus' sexual system was an important step in the development of botanical classification and played a crucial role in popularizing the study of plants. Although it has been largely replaced by more advanced systems, Linnaeus' contributions remain fundamental to mapping plant biodiversity.

Books: A New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus Von Linnæus (1797–1807) incl Part III, the Temple of Flora (1799–1807) & The British Flora" of 1812.