Canterbury Bells (Campanula medium)
1787
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1787
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Canterbury Bells (Campanula medium) is a 1787 watercolor by Pierre Joseph Redouté, a Rococo painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This watercolor shows a single Canterbury bell flower with a dragonfly perched on its stem. Redouté painted this while visiting a botanist’s home in London. He didn’t draw it for a book—it was a gift. The delicate petals and dragonfly wings show off his skill with watercolor’s see-through layers. His work here is softer than his usual plant books. See how the light shines through the wings?
