Blue-Eyed Grass

By Pierre-Joseph Redouté

Bring a breath of French imperialism into your abode with this unique botanical artwork depicting the Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium) created by Pierre-Joseph Redouté. Published around 1802-1816, it is taken from the magnificent work called Les Liliacées, a book that contains more than 486 plates and illustrations drawn from real-life examples growing in the private gardens of Joséphine Bonaparte, the Empress of France, at Chateau de Malmaison.

Redouté was known as “The Raphael of Flowers” because of his innovative technique of stipple engraving, which allowed him to create a variety of tones and colors, capture the delicate structure of leaves shaped like swords and petals of an exotic star, which made his works highly valued among scientists of his time. Despite the name, the Blue-Eyed Grass, which belongs to the iris family, is not really a grass.

This beautiful botanical plate combines a clean style and the use of soft, natural colors.