Artwork
Twelve Months of Flowers: July
Twelve Months of Flowers: July is a print by the Baroque artist Henry Fletcher. It dates from 1730 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1730, *Twelve Months of Flowers: July* is a printed engraving that depicts a densely arranged vase of summer blossoms. The composition features red carnations, blue hyacinths, white daisies and verdant foliage, each element labeled with a small numeral, echoing a gardener’s inventory. The plain background serves to isolate the floral display, emphasizing colour and form.
Subject & Meaning
The image functions as a visual catalogue of July’s garden flowers, illustrating the variety cultivated in English horticulture of the early eighteenth century. By pairing each bloom with a numeric identifier, the work offers both aesthetic pleasure and practical information, reflecting contemporary interests in botany and seasonal planting.
Technique & Style
Engraver Henry Fletcher translated Pieter Casteels’ drawings into a fine-line print, employing meticulous incising to render delicate petals, leaf veins and even minute stem hairs. The precise, almost scientific rendering coexists with a compositional richness typical of the period’s decorative floral art, balancing accuracy with visual abundance.
History & Provenance
The print was issued by Robert Furber, a prominent gardener and publisher who assembled a series documenting the twelve months of flowers. Fletcher, active in London between 1710 and 1750, is noted for his botanical and ornithological engravings. The July plate formed part of Furber’s broader effort to disseminate horticultural knowledge across Europe.
Artist & collection
Artist
Henry Fletcher (fl. 1710–1750), was an English engraver. Fletcher worked in London, and produced engravings possessing some merit. He most excelled as an engraver of flowers, notably The Twelve Months of Flowers and The…
