Pierre-Joseph Redouté

Acquired from the artist by Empress Josephine;
thence by descent to Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Bavaria;
thence by descent until sold, ("Sale of the Library of Eugène de Beauharnais"), Zurich, Braus-Riggenbach and Ulrico Hoepli, 23 May 1935, lot 82;
Erhard Weyhe, New York;
anonymous sale (''The Property of a Private Trust"), New York, Sotheby's, 20 November 1985, lot 12, to W. Graham Arader, New York; 
with The Garden Ltd.,
by whom sold, New York, Sotheby's, 9-10 November 1989, lot 171

Fixed to mount with elaborate tensioning system, involving strings. Excellent condition. Modern frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present lot comes from Pierre-Joseph Redouté's largest and most ambitious work, Les Liliacées, which was conceived as a meticulous exercise to render accurately the different members of the Liliaceae family, as well as to produce aesthetically beautiful images.  Highly finished drawings like this were the basis from which engraved plates were made, to be hand coloured and assembled into volumes.  The complete work was composed of 486 plates, published in 80 separate installments from 1802-1816.

Empress Josephine had a passion for flowers and spent much time and money in creating gardens at Malmaison, Saint-Cloud, Versailles and Sèvres.  Being employed by the Empress, Redouté had open access to these gardens. While this series was not directly commissioned by her, without her patronage the work surely would never have come to fruition.  Knowing that a work such as Les Liliacées would greatly please his patron, Redouté presented his original drawings in a bound volume to the Empress.

The present watercolor corresponds to plate 12 in part 2 (1804) of Les Liliacées.  The flower is known in English as the Butterfly Antholysus; it was brought to Europe from the Cape of Good Hope, and Linnaeus said it was also to be found in Persia.  At Malmaison it flowered in the spring.