My third favourite botanical artist is Girolamo Pini but unfortunately I cannot find out much about him. According to Simblet (Botany for the Artist) he was an obscure Italian artist who painted around the 17th century. He used oils on canvas and I think his mastery of the medium is gorgeous. He manages to imbue such lush realism into his paintings, with beautiful use of highlight and detail. I also like the way he uses the whole of the canvas, filling it completely with wonderful botanicals. Yet the composition doesn’t seem overcrowded. The painting above makes me feel as though I am in the midst of a beautiful herbaceous border in a wonderful Italian garden. I really adore the use of white, and as he has used it on a tan coloured background, the whole painting seems warm even though a lot of white and very pale colours have been used. I can imagine the sun glinting and shimmering off the leaves and ground.
Etude de botanique. Florence, 17e siècle. Pini, Girolamo peintre Tableau peinture à l’huile, toile H. cm : 92 L. cm : 120 H. avec cadre cm : 111 l. avec cadre cm : 140 achat, 1880 n° inventaire: A 124 Paris, Les Arts Décoratifs.
In the close up above we can see a tiny white butterfly and this is something else I like about the painter. Not only does he paint beautiful life-like botanicals in great detail but also adds various insects, which just add to the idea of being in an actual garden. The addition of insect life enhances the realism of the paintings. This is something to bear in mind when drawing/colouring plants as it just adds to the composition in my opinion.
Artis Botanica 