By Daniel Fulco, Ph.D., Agnita M. Stine Schreiber Curator

To mark the special exhibition Art, Fashion, Symbol, Statement: Tattooing in America, 1960s to Today (on view through October 13, 2024), we hope that you enjoy this print in our collection. If you visit the museum, this work is on view in the exhibition.

James Sowerby (English, 1757‒1822)
Orchis Latifolia (Salep), c. 1797‒1815
Published in William Curtis (British, 1756‒1822), Botanical Magazine
Hand-colored engraving
Collection of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts
Gift of Jacquelyn Moore Alexander, 2024
 
With great exactness and delicacy, James Sowerby represented this salep, carefully delineating its petals, leaves, stem, and root structure. Note that he applied varying shades of violet, green, brown, and black ink to the plant’s parts, thereby enhancing their realism and accurate representation. On the lower right, Sowerby also included details about the plant’s buds and petals, as indicated by the numerals that refer readers to additional technical information in the text. Interestingly, the salep has traditionally been used for medicinal purposes, and flour made from its tubers (enlarged parts of a plant used to store nutrients from the stem or roots) is consumed as a hot beverage in Turkey and Iran.

Sowerby and his family were naturalists, collectors, artists, and publishers who offered the public a large selection of important, original, illustrated works on natural history. James founded the dynasty and is well known for his illustrations in James Smith’s English Botany (1790‒1814). For his pupils and other “Young Beginners,” Sowerby wrote An Easy Introduction to Drawing Flowers according to Nature (1788). His use of vivid color and accessible texts was intended to reach a widening audience in works of natural history.
 
Scientific illustrations by artist-naturalists such as James Sowerby have influenced the drawings of tattoo artist Adelina Mai, which are on display in the exhibition Art, Fashion, Symbol, Statement: Tattooing in America, 1960s to Today. Mai is a micro-realist who employs fine black linework in her drawings and completed tattoos. These designs derive from her fascination with flora and fauna, which she depicts with remarkable naturalism. Note Mai’s precisionism, exceptional attention to detail, and masterful use of color, which she uses to great effect in capturing the realism and tangibility of the flowers in this work.

Adelina Mai (American)
Lavender floral tattoo flash, 2022
Pen and ink on paper
11 x 8.5675 in.
Collection of the artist