1820
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Brier Bush Rose or Dog Rose (Rosa Sepium Rosea) is a 1820 by Pierre Joseph Redouté, a Romanticism work, depicting Paeonia, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
Here’s the painting: a precise watercolor of a brier bush rose. The petals are soft pink, the leaves have sharp edges, and small thorns curl along the stem. The background is plain white, so your eye stays on the flower. This rose grew in Empress Josephine’s garden at Malmaison. She loved rare plants and hired Redouté to paint them all. He spent years capturing every curve of each petal. Look up Pierre-Joseph Redouté if you want to see more of his rose paintings.
Les Roses was commissioned by the empress Josephine who, after marrying Napoleon Bonaparte in 1795, rebuilt the royal country estate Malmaison and its opulent gardens. An immense hothouse was constructed to shelter her magnificent collection of rare and exotic plants, which included 250 varieties of roses.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Pierre-Joseph Redouté (French pronunciation: , 10 July 1759 – 19 June 1840), was a painter and botanist from the Austrian Netherlands, known for his watercolours of roses, lilies and other flowers at the Château de…
See the richer artist page
