Alfred Riocreux (1820 Sevres - 1912 Paris), a French scientific illustrator and described as the "most distinguished botanical artist of his day".[1]
Cyrtocymura scorpioides by Alfred Riocreux
Alfred's father was Denis-Désiré Riocreux (1791-1872), a porcelain painter at the 'Manufacture Royale de Porcelain' at Sèvres, and one of Pierre-Joseph Redouté's (1759-1840) last pupils. His failing eyesight obliged him to abandon porcelain painting, and in 1815 to take up the position of Keeper of the Musee de Ceramique at Sèvres.[2] Tutored by his father, Riocreux soon became skilled in drawing and painting. Alfred also worked at the Sèvres factory and his work, which included botanical drawings, was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1837, 1838 and 1855. In 1870 he was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur. In 1856 he became a member of the Société Impériale et Centrale d’Horticulture.
His interest in botanical illustration was furthered through meeting the botanist Adolphe Theodore Brongniart. It seems probable that Brongniart first introduced Riocreux to the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, where he befriended the botanist and author Joseph Decaisne, who later named the genus Riocreuxia in his honour, and in turn, introduced him to Gustave Thuret. He also used Riocreux's talents to illustrate the nine volumes of "Le Jardin Fruitier du Muséum" (1858-1875). This led to more illustrating for other botanists, such as Étienne Fiacre Louis Raoul's "Choix de Plantes de la Nouvelle-Zélande" (1846), W.B. Hemsley's "Handbook of Hardy Trees, Shrubs, and Herbaceous Plants" (1873) and Gustave Thuret's "Notes Algologiques" (1876-1880) and "Etudes Phycologiques" (1878), the latter being highly acclaimed. His illustrations were also used in the journals "La Revue Horticole and Annales des Sciences Naturelles". Édouard André chose Riocreux to arrange the engravings for C.S. Sargent's "Silva of North America", in twelve volumes from 1890-1899. Working from Paris, Riocreux supervised the production of the six hundred plates drawn in pencil by Charles Edward Faxon (1846-1918) and engraved by Philibert and Eugene Picart. Thirty of Riocreux's original plates for "Choix de Plantes de la Nouvelle-Zélande" are held by the Herbarium at Kew. He was an early exponent of using a microscope for botanical dissections. His work may be seen at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.[3]
A collection of 86 drawings by Riocreux (four of which are shown below) was once held by the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University - C.S. Sargent was its first director during 1872-1927. The collection was described as "exceedingly rare and exquisitely illustrated...bound in crushed Levant, beautifully tooled, no date".[4]
alfred, riocreux, 1820, sevres, 1912, paris, french, scientific, illustrator, described, most, distinguished, botanical, artist, cyrtocymura, scorpioides, alfred, father, denis, désiré, riocreux, 1791, 1872, porcelain, painter, manufacture, royale, porcelain, . Alfred Riocreux 1820 Sevres 1912 Paris a French scientific illustrator and described as the most distinguished botanical artist of his day 1 Cyrtocymura scorpioides by Alfred RiocreuxAlfred s father was Denis Desire Riocreux 1791 1872 a porcelain painter at the Manufacture Royale de Porcelain at Sevres and one of Pierre Joseph Redoute s 1759 1840 last pupils His failing eyesight obliged him to abandon porcelain painting and in 1815 to take up the position of Keeper of the Musee de Ceramique at Sevres 2 Tutored by his father Riocreux soon became skilled in drawing and painting Alfred also worked at the Sevres factory and his work which included botanical drawings was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1837 1838 and 1855 In 1870 he was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d Honneur In 1856 he became a member of the Societe Imperiale et Centrale d Horticulture His interest in botanical illustration was furthered through meeting the botanist Adolphe Theodore Brongniart It seems probable that Brongniart first introduced Riocreux to the Museum d Histoire Naturelle where he befriended the botanist and author Joseph Decaisne who later named the genus Riocreuxia in his honour and in turn introduced him to Gustave Thuret He also used Riocreux s talents to illustrate the nine volumes of Le Jardin Fruitier du Museum 1858 1875 This led to more illustrating for other botanists such as Etienne Fiacre Louis Raoul s Choix de Plantes de la Nouvelle Zelande 1846 W B Hemsley s Handbook of Hardy Trees Shrubs and Herbaceous Plants 1873 and Gustave Thuret s Notes Algologiques 1876 1880 and Etudes Phycologiques 1878 the latter being highly acclaimed His illustrations were also used in the journals La Revue Horticole and Annales des Sciences Naturelles Edouard Andre chose Riocreux to arrange the engravings for C S Sargent s Silva of North America in twelve volumes from 1890 1899 Working from Paris Riocreux supervised the production of the six hundred plates drawn in pencil by Charles Edward Faxon 1846 1918 and engraved by Philibert and Eugene Picart Thirty of Riocreux s original plates for Choix de Plantes de la Nouvelle Zelande are held by the Herbarium at Kew He was an early exponent of using a microscope for botanical dissections His work may be seen at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge 3 A collection of 86 drawings by Riocreux four of which are shown below was once held by the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University C S Sargent was its first director during 1872 1927 The collection was described as exceedingly rare and exquisitely illustrated bound in crushed Levant beautifully tooled no date 4 The standard author abbreviation Riocreux is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name 5 Gallery edit nbsp Dianthus barbatus nbsp Crinum amabile nbsp Viola Garden Varieties of lutea and curtisii nbsp Clarkia rubicundaReferences edit Harvard University Herbaria Botany Libraries Archives Gray Herbaria Riocreux Drawings artwork Archived from the original on 2014 12 22 Retrieved 2014 12 22 Alfred Riocreux Vernonia Centriflora Archived from the original on 2015 09 15 Retrieved 2014 12 22 Alfred Riocreux 1820 1912 Jardins de France Archived from the original on 2014 12 23 Retrieved 2014 12 23 The Art of Botanical Illustration An Illustrated History Wilfrid Blunt William Thomas Stearn International Plant Names Index Riocreux External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alfred Riocreux Works by or about Alfred Riocreux at Internet Archive Alfred Riocreux at Plantillustrations Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alfred Riocreux amp oldid 1171315016, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
