Imperial Fritillary

This dazzling botanical drawing by the little-known French artist Laure Devéria demonstrates aesthetic and scientific sensibilities in equal measure. Its vibrant colours and meticulous specificity—visible, for example, in the chromatic variation of the stem—not only delight the eye, but would also help someone identify the plant. In a time before modern documentary photography, art was essential to the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge, and women like Devéria played a major role.