The Bauers

Book excerpt: Filled with stunning 18th- and 19th-century illustrations of plants and other living creatures, this book is the first to bring together the life and art of the three Bauer Brothers, who came to be some of the most celebrated botanical artists of all time. As artists, Joseph, Franz and Ferdinand Bauer were independently successful: Joseph as court painter to the Prince of Lichtenstein; Franz (later Francis) was employed at Kew Gardens as the "Botanick Painter to His Majesty"; and Ferdinand's seminal collection of 1500 paintings created from sketches he made traveling in and around Australia is the first detailed account of the natural history of that continent. Drawn from all known worldwide sources of the Bauers' extant illustrations, this illustrated history of the Bauers and their work unfolds chronologically, starting with the brothers' formative years in Feldsberg, Austria, where they produced more than two thousand drawings of plant specimens under the guidance of the local abbot. Learning how to dissect plants as well as how to use microscopes to paint them in intricate detail, the Bauers became well known for their extraordinary precision. Their detailed work, along with their incredibly beautiful and highly developed methods of coloring their paintings, comes to life in numerous superbly reproduced illustrations. A celebration of an indelible body of work, this unique volume recalls the Golden Age of botanical artistry through the lives and contributions of the renowned Bauer brothers.