Alfred Riocreux (1820 Sevres - 1912

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

), a French scientific illustrator and described as the "most distinguished botanical artist of his day". 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 Pierre-Joseph Redouté (, 10 July 1759 – 19 June 1840), was a painter and botanist from Belgium, known for his watercolours of roses, lilies and other flowers at the Château de Malmaison, many of which were published as large, coloured s ...

'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. 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 The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

in 1837, 1838 and 1855. In 1870 he was awarded the ''

Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

''. 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 ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illicit ...

. It seems probable that Brongniart first introduced Riocreux to the

Museum d'Histoire Naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

, where he befriended the botanist and author

Joseph Decaisne Joseph Decaisne (7 March 1807 – 8 January 1882) was a French botanist and agronomist. He became an ''aide-naturaliste'' to Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (1797-1853), who served as the chair of rural botany. It was during this time that he began to stu ...

, who later named the genus ''

Riocreuxia ''Riocreuxia'' is a plant genus in the family ''Apocynaceae'', and named in honour of the botanical illustrator Alfred Riocreux (1820-1912). It was first described as a genus in 1844 and is native to Africa.Gibbs Russell, G. E., W. G. M. Welman, ...

'' in his honour, and in turn introduced him to

Gustave Thuret Gustave Adolphe Thuret (23 May 1817 – 10 May 1875) was a noted French botanist, and founder of the Jardin botanique de la Villa Thuret. Biography Born in Paris, he belonged to an old Huguenot family, which had sought refuge in Weesp (Dutch ...

. He also made use of 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 Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Scientists and inventors ...

's ''"Choix de Plantes de la Nouvelle-Zélande"'' (1846),

W.B. Hemsley William Botting Hemsley (29 December 1843, in East Hoathly – 7 October 1924, in Kent) was an English botanist and 1909 Victoria Medal of Honour recipient. He was born in East Hoathly, Sussex and in 1860 started work at the Royal Botanic Garden ...

's ''"Handbook of Hardy Trees, Shrubs, and Herbaceous Plants"'' (1873) and

'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"''. Riocreux was chosen by

Édouard André Édouard François André (17 July 1840 – 25 October 1911) was a French horticulturalist, landscape designer, as well as a leading landscape architect of the late 19th century, famous for designing city parks and public spaces in Lithuania, ...

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 The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

in Cambridge. A collection of 86 drawings by Riocreux (four of which are shown below) was once held by the

Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

- C.S. Sargent was its first director during 1872-1927. The collection was described as "exceedingly rare and exquisitely illustrated...bound in crushed

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

, beautifully tooled, no date"."The Art of Botanical Illustration: An Illustrated History" - Wilfrid Blunt, William Thomas Stearn

Gallery

Alfred Riocreux00.jpg, Alfred Riocreux01.jpg, Alfred Riocreux02.jpg, Alfred Riocreux03.jpg,

References

External links

*
Alfred Riocreux at Plantillustrations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riocreux, Alfred Botanical illustrators 1820 births 1912 deaths 19th-century French botanists 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century French male artists 19th-century French male artists