1.Pierre-Joseph Redoute
The most extraordinary creator of rose paintings in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was Pierre-Joseph Redoute. Born into a family of painters, Redoute was an artistic prodigy who left home at the age of thirteen to seek his fortune as a painter of portraits and religious themes. After discovering the flower paintings of Dutch painters Brueghel and Ruysch during his travels, Redoute turned to creating flower paintings himself.
When he reached Paris, Redoute was mentored by Gerard Van Spaendock. Van Spaendock was also a Dutch painter and was the official Royal Professor of Painting for the French court. In addition, Redoute was tutored by Charles L’Heritier, a French aristocrat and botanical expert. After teaching Redoute about plant anatomy, he commissioned him to illustrate a book on botany.
Redoute’s reputation as a painter of flowers was reaching great heights. Soon he was appointed as the official court painter for Queen Marie Antoinette. After the revolution, Redoute enjoyed the patronage of Empress Josephine. The Empress loved both flowers and art and created extensive gardens with a fantastic variety of beautiful plants and flowers. All of this aided Redoute, who produced extraordinary flower paintings for a number of books during this time.
Redoute’s acclaim for his flower paintings reached it’s pinnacle with the sale of a book dedicated to the illustration of roses. Redoute used a stipple engraving technique that result in incredible detail and subtle color variations. The book was sold to French aristocracy in monthly installments of four flower painting images for three years, at which point the book was permanently bound.
Eventually Redoute moved into flower paintings emphasizing aesthetics rather than botanical accuracy and continued in this vein until his death at the age of eighty. Redoute’s flower paintings can still be found today as books, posters and even decorative stickers
1. Cabbage Rose
R. centifolia
PICTURE SOURCE Les Roses, Volume I (1817)
ORIGINAL BOTANICAL NAME Rosa centifolia
CURRENT BOTANTICAL NAME R. centifolia
COMMON NAME Cabbage Rose
OTHER NAMES Provence Rose, Holland Rose, Hundred-Petalled Rose, Rose des Peintres
CLASS Centifolia
FLOWERING Once-flowering; summer
SCENT Strong, sweet fragrance
GROWTH Tall shrub, 6-7 feet (1.8-2.1 metres) high
AVAILABILITY Still in cultivation
2. Barberry-Leaved Rose
Hulthemia persica
PICTURE SOURCE Les Roses, Volume I (1817)
ORIGINAL BOTANICAL NAME Rosa Berberifolia
ORIGINAL FRENCH NAME Rosier à feuilles d’Epine-vinette
CURRENT BOTANTICAL NAME Hulthemia persica
COMMON NAME Barberry-Leaved Rose
OTHER NAMES R. persica, Xiao Nei Ye Qiang Wei
CLASS Wild Rose
ORIGIN Iran and Afghanistan, introduced to Europe 1788
FLOWERING Once-flowering; spring
SCENT Pleasant spicy fragrance
GROWTH Small shrub; 1-1 ½ feet tall (0.3-0.5 metres)
AVAILABILITY In cultivation and in wild
3. Sulfur Rose
R. hemisphaerica
PICTURE SOURCE Les Roses, Volume I (1817)
ORIGINAL BOTANICAL NAME Rosa Sulfurea
ORIGINAL FRENCH NAME Rosier jaune de souffre
CURRENT BOTANTICAL NAME R. hemisphaerica
COMMON NAME Sulfur Rose
OTHER NAMES Double Yellow, Double Yellow Provins, Yellow Centifolia
CLASS Wild Rose
ORIGIN Turkey, introduced to Europe prior 1625
FLOWERING Once-flowering; summer
SCENT Slight – some say unpleasant
GROWTH Tall shrub; 6 feet tall (1.8 metres)
AVAILABILITY In cultivation
4. Red-Leaved Rose
R. glauca
PICTURE SOURCE Les Roses, Volume I (1817)
ORIGINAL BOTANICAL NAME Rosa Rubrifolia
ORIGINAL FRENCH NAME Rosier à feuilles de rougeâtres
CURRENT BOTANTICAL NAME R. glauca
COMMON NAME Red-Leaved Rose
OTHER NAMES Hecht-Rose, R. romana, R.pyrenaica
CLASS Wild Species
ORIGIN Native to southern and central Europe
FLOWERING Once-flowering; summer
SCENT Slight fragrance
GROWTH Large shrub; 8-10 feet (2.4-3.0 metres)
AVAILABILITY Still in cultivation and wild
5. Musk Rose
R. moschata
PICTURE SOURCE Les Roses, Volume I (1817)
ORIGINAL BOTANICAL NAME Rosa moschata
ORIGINAL FRENCH NAME Rosier musqué
CURRENT BOTANTICAL NAME R. moschata
COMMON NAME Musk Rose
OTHER NAMES Rosier Muscat
CLASS Species (not a true wild species)
ORIGIN Ancient cultivator from Asia & Middle-East, introduced to Europe 16th century
FLOWERING Once-flowering; late summer
SCENT Musky scent
GROWTH Tall climber to 30 feet ( 9 metres)
AVAILABILITY Still in cultivation
6. The Macartney Rose
R. bracteata
PICTURE SOURCE Les Roses, Volume I (1817)
ORIGINAL BOTANICAL NAME Rosa Bracteata
ORIGINAL FRENCH NAME Rosier de Macartney
CURRENT BOTANTICAL NAME R. bracteata
COMMON NAME The Macartney Rose
OTHER NAMES Shuo Bao Giang Wei, Bracteate Rose, R. sinica
CLASS Species
ORIGIN Native to China, Lord Macartney introduced it to England 1793
FLOWERING Intermittent repeat flowering; summer-autumn
SCENT Pleasant fragrance
GROWTH Tall, sprawling evergreen shrub to 10 feet (3.0 metres)
AVAILABILITY Still in cultivation and wild
8. Cabbage Rose ‘Bullata’
R. centifolia ‘Bullata’
PICTURE SOURCE Les Roses, Volume I (1817)
ORIGINAL BOTANICAL NAME Rosa centifolia Bullata
ORIGINAL FRENCH NAME Rosier à feuilles de Laitue
CURRENT BOTANTICAL NAME R. centifolia ‘Bullata’
COMMON NAME Cabbage Rose ‘Bullata’
OTHER NAMES Bullate Cabbage Rose, Lettuce-leaved Rose
CLASS Centifolia
ORIGIN sport from R.centifolia; bred & named, early 1800s, by M. Dupont
FLOWERING Once-flowering; summer
SCENT Strong, sweet fragrance
GROWTH Tall shrub, more compact than R. centifolia
AVAILABILITY Still in cultivation
9. Single Moss Rose
R. centifolia ‘Andrewsii’
PICTURE SOURCE Les Roses, Volume I (1817)
ORIGINAL BOTANICAL NAME Rosa muscosa
ORIGINAL FRENCH NAME Rosier mousseux
CURRENT BOTANTICAL NAME R. centifolia ‘Andrewsii’
COMMON NAME Single Moss Rose
OTHER NAMES Muscosa Simplex, Old Pink Moss, Common Moss, Communis
CLASS Moss
ORIGIN Sport from R. centifolia, c. 1700
FLOWERING Once-flowering; summer
SCENT Sweet fragrance
GROWTH Medium-Tall shrub, 4-6 feet (1.2-1.8 metres)
AVAILABILITY Still in cultivation
Country Garden Roses 
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