Artwork

Groups of Various Plants Drawn After Nature: No. 7

Groups of Various Plants Drawn After Nature:  No. 7, by Eugène Blery, 1848
Groups of Various Plants Drawn After Nature:  No. 7, by Eugène Blery, 1848

Groups of Various Plants Drawn After Nature: No. 7 is a print by the Romanticist artist Eugène Blery. It dates from 1848 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Created in 1848, *Groups of Various Plants Drawn After Nature: No.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1848, *Groups of Various Plants Drawn After Nature: No. 7* is a black‑and‑white print by French engraver Eugène Stanislas Alexandre Bléry (1805–?). The image presents a small assemblage of slender, spiky‑topped plants growing near water, their leaves and blossoms rendered with careful attention to light and shadow.

Subject & Meaning

The composition depicts a cluster of tall, thin‑stalked plants with blooming tips, set against a muted, rocky shoreline. Large basal leaves fan outward, while the stems lean toward one another, suggesting a natural interdependence among the flora.

Technique & Style

Bléry employed lithography and etching techniques he had mastered under the patronage of the comtesse de Montalivet. The print’s fine line work captures delicate textures—veins of leaves, the sheen of water‑lit surfaces—and creates a subtle tonal contrast typical of mid‑19th‑century botanical illustration.

History & Provenance

Born into a military family, Bléry trained in the 1820s and pursued a career as an engraver in France. *No. 7* belongs to a larger series titled *Groups of Various Plants Drawn After Nature*, which documented plant forms with scientific precision. The work is now held by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Artist & collection

Portrait of Eugène Blery

Artist

Eugène Blery

Eugène Stanislas Alexandre Bléry (3 March 1805–7 June 1887), was a French engraver.

This work is in the public domain (CC0). Image source: Cleveland Museum of Art open access. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.