Botanical paintings can be seen to emerge in Europe from three converging artistic traditions: the first is that of manuscript illumination in religious and scientific volumes; the second is the recording of exotic and native flora, fauna and cultures, which was the artistic expression of the late sixteenth-century fascination with exploration and scientific investigation; and the third is the purely aesthetic love of flowers and gardens which was so apparent in Elizabethan court culture.
Jacques Le Moyne’s ‘Apple’ (below) is a beautiful example of the intricate detail expressed by this form of art, which is almost photographic in quality.
![](https://semper-veritas.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Jacques_Le_Moyne_de_Morgues_-_Apple-2020.01.125Yr-1-743x1024.jpg)
Artist: Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues
Type: Watercolour & Body colour on paper
Source: #AM.3267Y-1856; © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
![](https://semper-veritas.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Jacques_Le_Moyne_de_Morgues_-_Orange-Lemon-2020.01.125Yr-714x1024.jpg)
Artist: Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues
Type: Watercolour & Body colour on paper
Source: AM.3267W-1856; © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
![](https://semper-veritas.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Illex-Paraguayensis-2-768x1024.jpg)
Source: The National Encyclopaedia:A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge (Vol. IX)
Artist: Unknown