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THORNTON, Robert John (circa 1768-1837). - Peter HENDERSON
The Blue Egyptian Water Lily
London: Sept. 11th, 1804. Hand-coloured and colour-printed aquatint engraving by Stadler. Excellent condition. Image size (including text): 18 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. Sheet size: 21 13/16 x 17 5/8 inches.
The most strikingly beautiful flower plates ever to be printed in England.
"The ancient Egyptians venerated the Blue Water Lily [Nymphaea caerulea Savigny]...Their attraction to it is understandable because of its pleasing colour and the very delicate scent of its flowers, which are produced in abundance during the summer months. Displayed quietly among the leaves amid the scarcely-moving water, the whole plant distils an atmosphere of stillness, light and peace. This contrasts greatly with the tone of the text with which Thornton accompanied the plate in the Temple of Flora. When he had this prepared the triumph of Nelson over Napoleon at Aboukir Bay was still fresh in the memory and a large part of the text and notes is concerned with the battle instead of the plant. The water lily in the picture is set against a background which is supposed to represent `a distant view of Aboukir and the waters of the Nile'. Palm trees and a mosque in the middle distance add a touch of authenticity to the supposed Egyptian scene...The strong Egyptian sun is reflected in the rippling water and the plate has a lightness which is very attractive." (Ronald King, The Temple of Flora by Robert Thornton, 1981, p.110).
Thornton's Temple of Flora is the greatest English colour-plate flower book. "...[Thornton] inherited a competent fortune and trained as a doctor. He appears to have had considerable success in practice and was appointed both physician to the Marylebone Dispensary and lecturer in medical botany at Guy's and St. Thomas's hospitals. But quite early in his career he embarked on his.. great work. What Redouté produced under the patronage of L'Héritier, Marie Antoinette, the Empress Josephine, Charles X and the Duchesse de Berry, Thornton set out to do alone...Numerous important artists were engaged.. twenty-eight paintings of flowers commissioned from Abraham Pether, known as `Moonlight Pether', Philip Reinagle, .. Sydenham Edwards, and Peter Henderson...The result...involved Thornton in desperate financial straits... In an attempt to extricate himself he organized the Royal Botanic Lottery, under the patronage of the Prince Regent…it is easy to raise one's eyebrows at Thornton's unworldly and injudicious approach to publishing...But he produced...one of the loveliest books in the world" (Alan Thomas Great Books and Book Collecting, pp.142-144).
First and only state of this plate from the Temple of Flora.
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#14638 $6,500.00 
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© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
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