The Temple of Flora, or Garden of Nature: A Group of Auriculas

1803

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

The Temple of Flora, or Garden of Nature: A Group of Auriculas is a 1803 by Robert John Thornton, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Robert John Thornton
When & what style?: 1803 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This is a floral painting from an old botanical book. Robert John Thornton made it in 1803. The work belongs to Romanticism. The artist spent years on a big botanical project called *New Illustrations of the Sexual System of Linnaeus*. It cost so much that he ended up poor. Look up *The Cleveland Museum of Art* to see more of his prints.

The story of this work

Overview

The greatest English botanical publication of the early 19th century was Dr. Robert John Thornton’s Temple of Flora. Although Thornton studied medicine, his passion was botany and he soon embarked upon a major publishing venture that brought him both fame and financial ruin. The work, New Illustrations of the Sexual System of Linnaeus, was the most sumptuous botanical publication ever produced. The third section, the famous Temple of Flora, has 28 flower portraits set not against a plain conventional background but in the full richness of their natural setting. Unfortunately the day of the…

Read the full account in the museum source.