Pierre Jean François Turpin (11 March 1775,

Vire Vire () is a town and a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Vire Normandie. Geography The town is located on the river Vire. Much of it ...

– 1 May 1840) was a French

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

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 complicat ...

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

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

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

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

as a member of the French Army. Here he met botanist

Pierre Antoine Poiteau Pierre-Antoine Poiteau (23 March 1766 Âmbleny – 27 February 1854) was a French botanist, gardener and botanical artist. Biography He was born in Ambleny, France. After having worked in kitchen gardens and for the Parisian market gardeners ...

(1766-1854), through whom, Turpin learned

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, 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 Haiti, 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 naturalists, Turpin created some of the finest

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

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 French botanist and traveller who was born and died in Orléans, France. A keen observer, he is credited with important discoveries in botany, notably the ...

'
''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 Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau (20 July 1700, Paris13 August 1782, Paris), was a French physician, naval engineer and botanist. Biography Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau was born in Paris in 1700, the son of Alexandre Duhamel, lord of Denain ...

's (1700-1782) ''Traité des arbres fruitiers'' (treatise on fruit trees). *

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...

(1769-1859) and

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

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

Jean Louis Marie Poiret Jean Louis Marie Poiret (11 June 1755 in Saint-Quentin7 April 1834 in Paris) was a French clergyman, botanist, and explorer. From 1785 to 1786, he was sent by Louis XVI to Algeria to study the flora. After the French Revolution, he became a p ...

's (1755-1834) ''Leçons de flore: Cours complet de botanique'' (1819-1820). *

François-Pierre Chaumeton François-Pierre Chaumeton (20 September 1775 in Chouzé-sur-Loire – 10 August 1819 in Paris) was a French botanist and physician. He studied medicine, humanities and languages (particularly Greek) in Paris, afterwards serving as a surgeon in ...

'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 (French: ''Académie des 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 research. It was at the ...

. The plant genus ''

Turpinia ''Turpinia'' is a genus of trees and shrubs in family Staphyleaceae, native to Asia and North, Central, and South America. Species include: * '' Turpinia affinis'' * '' Turpinia arguta'' * '' Turpinia cochinchinensis'' * '' Turpinia formosana'' ...

'' 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 Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Arya ...

, Benjamin Eli Smith

References

Rarebooks
(biography of Pierre Turpin)

Works

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