WHAT'S ON
The Caley has always promoted and encouraged botanical art in Scotland and was very supportive in the founding of BISCOT (Botanic Images Scotia) which is a competitive botanical art exhibition. In 2008 it was already growing and receiving recognition for its excellence when it became a sub-committee of the Royal Caledonian Horticulture Society. Its success continued to becoming a world-class, annual exhibition.
During the ‘lockdown’, exhibition venues disappeared but in spring 2023 The Caley, BISCOT, and SSBA (Scottish Society of Botanical Artists) agreed that it was possible to maximise the potential of The McHattie Room at Saughton Park to make it suitable for a retrospective exhibition in June 2024 entitled BISCOT REVISITED. This will herald the re-birth of BISCOT.
Botany became a recognised branch of knowledge around 400 B.C. when the main preoccupation with plants was for their medicinal properties. Drawings of plants and herbs were made to teach medical practitioners, and those who could not read, what they were prescribing. Some drawings did not resemble the plants they were meant to – unfamiliar plants were possibly made from vocal descriptions only which could be fatal for the patient.
Up to the Renaissance period, few illustrations survive which supported the writings of medical practitioners. What has survived, for example, such as those of Cratevas (88 B.C.) were attached to texts by the Roman doctor, Dioscorides (1st century A.D.), some of which appeared in Gerard’s Herbal in the 15th century. During this century many works of the great painters featuring the Madonna included very realistic and accurately rendered plants and flowers which had acquired meanings and which added further to the understanding of the paintings.
In the 16th century, the centre of botanical learning was Antwerp in Flanders. Exploration of the ‘New World’, i.e. America, resulted in completely unknown plants arriving in Europe. They were a huge status symbol and rich patrons commissioned the finest artists to illustrate their treasured plant possessions. These Florilegia were highly prized and became state treasures. The aesthetic merit of botanical paintings grew rapidly. They were now accepted, desirable, and thought worthy of contemplation.
A question often asked is what makes a botanical painting different from any other plant painting? On one level they both portray a botanical subject but the objectives are different. A botanical illustration is usually mostly line drawn and shows every characteristic, rather like a list of items, a visual shorthand description. The other which we term botanical painting, is not just an adjunct to botanical science but aims to be aesthetically pleasing as well as a truthful portrayal of the physical characteristics of the plant. ln some instances it may be used for the same scientific purpose but that is not its primary objective.
Botanical representation in both types of work is constrained by correctness in all the features and cannot take liberties with the colours and forms observed. The botanical painter, while complying with these restrictions, has more latitude in composition and presents the subject three-dimensionally as opposed to the two-dimensions used in illustrative works.
He/she may also manipulate the arrangement of leaves and flowers to their best advantage provided that this is within the natural characteristics of the plant. They do not need to illustrate the whole plant from ‘shoot to root’ but can select those parts considered most interesting. This may include magnified seeds and hairs or other tiny features which are too small to be seen with the naked eye. When changes in scale are used they must be acknowledged and taken into consideration within the composition of the whole picture. The finished work is no longer a recorded collection of botanical features suitable for scientific referrals, but is a work of aesthetic judgements. It has become a work of art.
Initially, some artists have only modest drawing and painting skills but these improve dramatically through practice, self-criticism, and close observation. The curiosity engendered by studying plants at such close quarters can become an intellectual pursuit in itself.
BISCOT REVISITED 2006-2019 takes place on Thursday 13th June until Sunday 16th June 2024 at The McHattie Room, Courtyard at Saughton Park.
*All paintings in this article are the works of artists who have exhibited at past BISCOT exhibitions, and have been supplied by Coral Prosser.