French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
artist,
botanical illustrator
Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species. They are generally meant to be scientifically descriptive about subjects depicted and are often found printed alongside a botanical description in boo ...
, and student of
Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté (, 10 July 1759 – 19 June 1840), was a Painting, painter and botanist from the Austrian Netherlands, known for his watercolours of roses, lily, lilies and other flowers at the Château de Malmaison, many of which we ...
.
Biography
Nathalie d'Esménard was born in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
on 6 September 1798 to
Joseph-Alphonse Esménard Joseph-Alphonse Esménard (1770, in Pélissanne – 25 June 1811, in Fondi) was a French poet, brother of the journalist Jean-Baptiste Esménard and the father of the artists Inès Esménard and Nathalie Elma d'Esménard.
Biography
In 1790, a ye ...
, a French politician and author, and Jeanne-Adolphine de Kalkräber. At age three, her parents had another daughter,
Inès Esménard
Inès Esménard (1789–1859), sometimes known as Inès d’Esménard, was a 19th century French painter and portrait miniature , portrait miniaturist.
Biography
Inès Esménard was born in Paris, one of three daughters of the poet Joseph-Alpho ...
, who would also go on to become a painter, though one who specialized in
portrait miniature
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...
s. Her father was killed in 1811 while travelling in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Nathalie would go on to become a student of
Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté (, 10 July 1759 – 19 June 1840), was a Painting, painter and botanist from the Austrian Netherlands, known for his watercolours of roses, lily, lilies and other flowers at the Château de Malmaison, many of which we ...
, an esteemed botanical illustrator. As a student, she displayed the influence of Redouté in the realm of botanical illustration in her use of detail, color, and design. Her works would be put on exhibition twice in the Parisian salons, in 1822 and 1827, where they were received positively.
Nathalie married Baron Antoine Renaud, a
field marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
and recipient of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
, and several of her paintings were signed with her married name of "Renaud". However, Baron Renaud died and left Nathalie a widow. On 25 February 1843 she remarried to a man named Pierre de Ricordy from a patrician family in
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million
Art
Nathalie primarily painted botanical depictions of flowers and other flora. She used mainly
watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...
, but also oil, on canvas and
vellum
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellu ...
.
Selected works
The following are several paintings by Nathalie d'Esménard:
* ''Noisette Rose'': 1823, copy of Redouté's ''Rose le Philipp Noisette''
* ''Narcissi and pansies'': 1823
* ''A rose, anemone, mignonette and daisies'': 1824
* ''
Camellia japonica
''Camellia japonica'', known as common camellia, or Japanese camellia, is a species of Camellia, a flowering plant genus in the family Theaceae. There are thousands of cultivars of ''C. japonica'' in cultivation, with many colors and forms of flo ...
(Camellia)'': 1826
* ''A spray of violas and primulas''
* ''A spray including single roses, violas and cineraria''