1759 Saint-Hubert b. Bastogne
1840 Paris

Pierre Joseph Redouté (1759-1840), or "Rafael of flowers", and probably the most famous flower painter, was the son of a Flemish painter family. Soon Redouté's paintings were inspired by natural motifs. In 1782 the painter went to Paris where he initially became a decorator at the Theater of Italy. In his spare time he made a lot of paintings in the Jardin du Roi. Redouté contributed to paint L'Héritiers Stirpes Novae und Sertum Anglicum and thus drew the attention of the flower painter Gérard von Spaendonck. In the 1790s he was one of the most sought-after flower painters. From 1802, Redouté's Liliacées were published. With its large-scale and evenly colored petals and blossoms Redouté already largely made use of the technical possibilities of color printing. In 1805 Redouté was appointed the empress Josephine's royal flower painter. Until his death he - as Spaendock's successor - worked as an art teacher in the Great Salon of the Buffon Gallery.