Page 1 / 2
Pierre Joseph Buchoz is an artist with an outstanding biography. The association of a polymath emerges. Buchoz must have been a man with an almost endless thirst for knowledge. A native of France, he earned his doctorate in medicine. As a medical doctor, he was interested in the treatment of depression. Buchoz recommended healing with the support of music. For a short time was a personal physician at the Polish royal court and left this position at his own request. The need to explore nature was too great. Pierre Joseph Buchoz moved out and studied botany with a scientific eye. His catalogues and botanical works are of great artistic value. Critics deny the explanations any scientific use and see them as decorative art. Buchoz was not only a physician and naturalist, he had additionally a legal education and became famous by his publications.
With the accession of Louis XVI to the throne, the guidelines for French publishing changed. The constraints on the book trade were relaxed and there was relief for authors to publish their own works. French society demanded natural history publications and Piere Joseph Buchoz, who from now on used the author abbreviation Buc'hoz, profited from the great interest. With the system of botanical nomenclature, the scientific importance of plant drawing was relegated to the background. The illustration of botanical studies became more and more an ornamental accessory. It was during this phase that the profession of botanical illustrator came into being. With the 18th century, printing technology reached an advance that transformed illustrations in color and detail into works of art. Buchoz understood beautifully how to find a compromise between the accuracy that nature dictated and an idealized image. Buchoz depicted a wide range of subjects. Flowers, plants, minerals and animals can be found among his elaborations. Pierre Joseph Buchoz was not only an author. He was a compiler, a collector of other works, compiling them into one publication.
Buchoz's world was constantly expanding. In his early years, he was concerned with depictions of the plants of his native land. With the time of the discovery of the world, plants from distant lands reached Europe. It was the time of the botanical gardens, where collections of the extraordinary plants were created. Buchoz made series of prints showing the most beautiful flowers of the European gardens. Elements of Chinese art had recently reached Europe and influenced French painting. Pierre Buchoz adopted some of the stylistic elements. In addition to the beautiful flowers of Chinese gardens, he gave his plants a landscape. Birds enlivened the scenes and some of his prints feature Chinese characters. Artistically, these lithographs are remarkable. Buchoz succeeded in creating the effect of a Chinese watercolor with the needle. To an untrained eye, it is hard to tell that these works were not painted with a brush.
Pierre Joseph Buchoz is an artist with an outstanding biography. The association of a polymath emerges. Buchoz must have been a man with an almost endless thirst for knowledge. A native of France, he earned his doctorate in medicine. As a medical doctor, he was interested in the treatment of depression. Buchoz recommended healing with the support of music. For a short time was a personal physician at the Polish royal court and left this position at his own request. The need to explore nature was too great. Pierre Joseph Buchoz moved out and studied botany with a scientific eye. His catalogues and botanical works are of great artistic value. Critics deny the explanations any scientific use and see them as decorative art. Buchoz was not only a physician and naturalist, he had additionally a legal education and became famous by his publications.
With the accession of Louis XVI to the throne, the guidelines for French publishing changed. The constraints on the book trade were relaxed and there was relief for authors to publish their own works. French society demanded natural history publications and Piere Joseph Buchoz, who from now on used the author abbreviation Buc'hoz, profited from the great interest. With the system of botanical nomenclature, the scientific importance of plant drawing was relegated to the background. The illustration of botanical studies became more and more an ornamental accessory. It was during this phase that the profession of botanical illustrator came into being. With the 18th century, printing technology reached an advance that transformed illustrations in color and detail into works of art. Buchoz understood beautifully how to find a compromise between the accuracy that nature dictated and an idealized image. Buchoz depicted a wide range of subjects. Flowers, plants, minerals and animals can be found among his elaborations. Pierre Joseph Buchoz was not only an author. He was a compiler, a collector of other works, compiling them into one publication.
Buchoz's world was constantly expanding. In his early years, he was concerned with depictions of the plants of his native land. With the time of the discovery of the world, plants from distant lands reached Europe. It was the time of the botanical gardens, where collections of the extraordinary plants were created. Buchoz made series of prints showing the most beautiful flowers of the European gardens. Elements of Chinese art had recently reached Europe and influenced French painting. Pierre Buchoz adopted some of the stylistic elements. In addition to the beautiful flowers of Chinese gardens, he gave his plants a landscape. Birds enlivened the scenes and some of his prints feature Chinese characters. Artistically, these lithographs are remarkable. Buchoz succeeded in creating the effect of a Chinese watercolor with the needle. To an untrained eye, it is hard to tell that these works were not painted with a brush.