The subjects of freehand drawing and biological illustration were taught in Wageningen for many years. These were courses in botanical drawing and landscape architectural drawing. The Agricultural College, and later the university, also employed professional artists who produced botanical drawings for research and publications. The drawings of plants, parts of plants and plant diseases are scientifically accurate and very detailed. They are an example of the interaction between science and art. In later years, photography and digital art software became the norm and freehand drawing became increasingly less common. This selection shows works by artists who were appointed as botanical illustrators at various departments of the then Agricultural College. Joke has made a selection from the many botanical drawings present in WUR’s collection.

Special Collections has the ambition to make as many images as possible available online through  WUR Image Collections. Many images can be downloaded free of charge.

Sources

De geschiedenis van de Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen: Van school naar hogeschool, 1873-1945. Part 1 / J. van der Haar, assisted by M.E. de Ruiter, archivist. Wageningen: Agricultural University, 1993.
Botanical artists in the Netherlands (website visited on 19/1/2022).