Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s Choix des plus belles fleurs, plate 013, published in 1827, presents the flowering plant labelled at the lower edge as Bignonia capensis, commonly known as Cape honeysuckle. A slender stem rises through a compact fan of green foliage before opening into a vivid crown of red, tubular flowers, each enlivened by flashes of warm yellow. The specimen occupies the centre of the pale page without crowding it: generous negative space gives the branching structure clarity, while the intense flowers appear almost suspended above the leaves.

The plate belongs to Redouté’s celebrated Choix des plus belles fleurs, a project whose title translates as “Selection of the Most Beautiful Flowers”. Redouté was among the most accomplished botanical artists working in early nineteenth-century Paris, admired for combining close observation with an unusually refined sense of arrangement. His flower studies addressed two audiences at once: they made botanical structures legible, but also treated each plant as a composed visual subject. Created during an era fascinated by the classification and publication of the natural world, this plate exemplifies the flower book as both a record of knowledge and an object of cultivated pleasure.

A closer look

The eye is first drawn to the upper cluster, where the blossoms gather in a loose, upward-facing spray. Their elongated red tubes swell and curl towards the openings, revealing yellow throats and markings that sharpen the contrast between individual flowers. Subtle transitions from deep crimson to softer coral-red prevent the colour from appearing flat. Fine contours along the petal edges, together with minute hair-like details, give the blooms a tactile delicacy; restrained highlights suggest their smooth, slightly glossy surfaces.

Below, the foliage provides a cooler and more measured counterweight. Leaves of differing sizes spread out on either side of the central stem, their serrated edges and networks of veins recorded with patient precision. Redouté varies the greens from pale, illuminated passages to deeper tones along folds and overlaps. These tonal changes separate one leaf from another and create a convincing impression of volume without introducing a landscape, shadowed ground or other setting.

The composition is carefully economical. The smooth stem acts as a vertical axis, leading from the lower leaves towards the saturated colour above, yet the slight asymmetry of the branching keeps the plant from feeling diagrammatic. Small gaps between leaves allow the pale ground to pass through the arrangement, making the silhouette easy to read. At the bottom, the concise botanical label anchors the otherwise floating specimen and identifies it within the classificatory tradition to which the plate belongs.

Context and significance

Belgian-born and active chiefly in France, Redouté became closely associated with the sophisticated botanical culture of Paris. His career brought him into contact with eminent royal and imperial patrons, including Marie Antoinette and Joséphine Bonaparte, but his lasting reputation rests on the precision and luminosity of his plant portraits. Rather than presenting flowers as incidental ornament, he gave individual specimens the focus more usually reserved for portrait sitters: isolated, carefully lit and distinguished by their particular contours.

This study demonstrates why his work could satisfy scientific and decorative interests without sacrificing either. The flower’s tubular construction, leaf venation and growth pattern remain readily comprehensible, yet the ascending rhythm and balance of red, yellow and green make the plate visually complete in its own right. Its appeal lies in that poised union of taxonomy and artistry—the plant is examined closely, then arranged with enough restraint for every stem, vein and flare of colour to hold attention.

Choosing the right size and finish

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The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this art print.

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This artwork is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The work is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present an art print without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas art and explore the differences between my different finishes.