Catasetum Discolor 1885 - 1906

Jean Jules Linden created this image of Catasetum Discolor using lithography. It is a beautiful example of botanical illustration, a genre that flourished in the 19th century fueled by colonial expansion and scientific exploration. Linden was a botanist and explorer who introduced many orchid species to Europe. His work embodies the Victorian obsession with natural history. Botanical illustration at this time was bound up with imperial projects. European powers funded expeditions to map new territories and extract resources, and the beautiful images had a crucial role in communicating information about newly discovered plants. The images also fuelled a craze for collecting exotic plants among the wealthy. Linden himself cultivated and sold orchids from his base in Brussels. His journal L'Illustration horticole documents the plants that passed through his nurseries. Understanding the role of botanical illustration requires us to look at its links to scientific institutions, economic structures, and colonial power, to consider the politics of imagery.