Bilder Robert John Thornton (1768–1837) – Cupid Inspiring Plants with Love – Stipple engraving (1800)

Beskrivning

This allegorical frontispiece introduces the famous Temple of Flora series. The composition features a young Cupid in a dense tropical landscape, aiming his bow at an exotic Strelitzia reginae (Bird of Paradise flower). The scene is lush with high banana trees, palms, and thick shrubs against a backdrop of distant mountains under a cloudy sky. The engraving uses the stipple technique to achieve soft tonal transitions in Cupid's skin and the delicate texture of the flower petals. The work was published in London by Dr. Thornton on May 1, 1800.

Robert John Thornton was a prominent English physician and botanist, whose life's work culminated in the monumental The New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnæus. The Temple of Flora was the most famous part of this project, blending scientific rigor with the aesthetic of Romanticism. For this frontispiece, Thornton employed the best masters of his time, including painter Philip Reinagle and engravers Francesco Bartolozzi and Peter Landseer. Despite the project's financial failure for Thornton, his prints are considered the pinnacle of British botanical illustration and remain some of the most valuable graphic works of the Georgian era.

Artist or Maker: Robert John Thornton 

Dimensions: Approximately 51 cm x 31 cm

Medium: Stipple engraving

Date: 1800

Condition Report:
This work is in good condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections or fox or mottled marks to be expected with age. Please review the images carefully for condition details, and feel free to contact us with any questions or for a comprehensive condition report.