Pierre Jean François Turpin (11 March 1775, Vire – 1 May 1840) was a French

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

. He was considered as one of the greatest floral and botanical illustrators during the

Napoleonic Era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and history of Europe, Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly (French Revoluti ...

and afterwards. As an artist, Turpin was largely self-taught. In 1794 he was stationed in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

as a member of the French Army. Here, he met botanist Pierre Antoine Poiteau (1766-1854), through whom Turpin learned

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, and in the meantime, created numerous botanical field drawings that were to become a basis of further study when the two men returned to France. In regard to their work in

, they were able to describe approximately 800 species of plants. Turpin would have a working relationship with Poiteau throughout his career. Through his collaboration with Poiteau and other

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

s, Turpin created some of the finest watercolors and illustrations of plants that are known to exist. The following are some of the works making use of Turpin's illustrations: *

Augustin Saint-Hilaire Augustin François César Prouvençal de Saint-Hilaire (4 October 17793 September 1853) was a French botanist and traveller who was born and died in Orléans, France. A keen observer, he is credited with important discoveries in botany, notably th ...

'
''Flora Brasiliae Meridionalis''
in three volumes (1825–1832) *

Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert (14 February 1773 – 1 March 1847) was a French banker and naturalist. He was an honorary member of the Académie des Sciences and many species were named from his natural history collections. Biography He was bor ...

's (1773-1847
''Icones selectae plantarum''
* With Pierre Poiteau, he produced an updated version of Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau's (1700-1782) ''Traité des arbres fruitiers'' (treatise on fruit trees). *

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

(1769-1859) and

Aimé Bonpland Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland (; 22 August 1773 – 11 May 1858) was a French List of explorers, explorer and botany, botanist who traveled with Alexander von Humboldt in Latin America from 1799 to 1804. He co-authored volumes of the scie ...

's (1773-1858
''Plantes Equinoxales''
(1808). *

Jean Louis Marie Poiret Jean Louis Marie Poiret (11 June 1755 in Saint-Quentin, Aisne, Saint-Quentin7 April 1834 in Paris) was a French clergyman, Botany, botanist, and Exploration, explorer. From 1785 to 1786, he was sent by Louis XVI of France, Louis XVI to Algeri ...

's (1755-1834) ''Leçons de flore: Cours complet de botanique'' (1819-1820). * François-Pierre Chaumeton's (1775-1819
''Flore médicale''
(1828-1832). In 1833 he was elected as a member to the

Académie des sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

. The plant genus '' Turpinia'' is named in his honour.The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia:
The Century dictionary ... by

William Dwight Whitney William Dwight Whitney (February 9, 1827June 7, 1894) was an American linguist, philologist, and lexicographer known for his work on Sanskrit grammar and Vedic philology as well as his influential view of language as a social institution. He was ...

, Benjamin Eli Smith

References

Rarebooks
(biography of Pierre Turpin)

Works

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turpin, Pierre Jean Francois 19th-century French botanists French illustrators French botanical illustrators 1775 births 1840 deaths People from Vire