The exhibition 'Women botanical illustrator' highlights the role of women in the history of the scientific illustration

Thursday, May 8, 2025

The History Museum of Girona will host the exhibition 'Women botanical illustrators' from May 10th to September 14th, 2025. It is a fascinating exhibition that displays the role of women in the history of botanical illustration from 17th century to the present day. The opening will be tomorrow, at 6 p.m., at the museum.

The exhibition 'Women botanical illustrators' synthesizes the research work done by Toya Legido, Mónica Gener, Ana J. Revuelta, Lucía M. Diz and Judit Gasca, members of the Research Group Art, Technology, Image and Preservation of Cultural Heritage of Complutense University of Madrid. They reconstructed the history of botanical illustration in order to find the names of the most relevant women and select the most interesting images made by them. Content, history, technique and aesthetics join in the History Museum of Girona to display an exhibition of a surprising beauty.

The route starts with a historical section displaying some of the most relevant women in the ambit of classical scientific drawing and engraving. Afterwards, the exhibition highlights the names of women illustrators from 19th and 20th centuries who worked both in illustration and photography. Then it shows the works of contemporary authors that actively collaborate with botanical gardens and other scientific institutions. Finally, there is a section devoted to a group of young illustrators who use digital tools to spread the knowledge of botanical science to people of all ages.

At the exhibition you can purchase the book-catalogue in Spanish, and the colour chart in Catalan, Spanish and English.