95 Years of Botanical Illustrations

The exhibition of botanical illustrations as part of EUROGARD IX. European Botanic Gardens Congress in Budapest consists of three parts:

We show the reprints of 26 watercolours by Vera Csapody, Hungarian botanist and researcher of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. Her oeuvre of invaluable artistic and scientific value contains ca. 11.500 watercolours of both native and introduced plants of Hungary, an immense collection of illustrations that enrich the unique botanical documentation of HNHM. The selection of works for EuroGard concentrates on endemic species, which are involved into ex situ conservation programmes of several Hungarian Botanic Gardens and were painted between 1927-1977.

The 24 special black and white drawings from 1988 to 2018 represent the International Dendrological Foundation (Hungary). The artworks for the Dendrological Atlas project supported by I.D.R.I., Inc. (U.S.) were created by Nóra G. Nagy, Aili Li and Fanni Veronika Vámos based on botanical sketches by Zsolt Debreczy project leader.

The show of sensitively crafted botanical illustrations created by 17 artists of the Vienna School of Botanical Illustration are the youngest artworks of the exhibition. The association founded in 2017 has strong linkages with the Botanical Garden of the University of Vienna. Meanwhile, it has more than 100 members not only from Austria, but also from other European countries like Germany, Ireland or the Netherlands.