Patricia Butler traces the artistic path and output of one of Ireland’s great botanical artists, Susan Sex
The use of botanical drawing has long been recognised as a vital tool for understanding, sharing and communicating exciting new botanical discoveries. Historically, the botanical artist strove to represent the subject to the highest degree of accuracy possible in order to ensure correct identifi cation and subsequent naming and classifi cation. The arrival in the 18th century of the Linnaean system, a scheme for grouping and naming plants, called for a more accurate and scientifi c style of botanical illustration.1 The structure of the fl ower and its fruit had to be revealed in order to allow for correct identifi cation of the plant. A beautiful but inaccurate botanical illustration, just like an unlabelled specimen, was unhelpful to science.
