Timeline of Mee’s Life Glossary Further Reading Student Activities
Essays
Margaret Mee/Portraits of Plants
By Yota Batsaki
The long tradition of plant representation combines the resources of art and science. While botanical art has been associated with aesthetic pleasure and botanical illustration with scientific documentation, both media draw on close observation, curiosity, and admiration for the natural world.
Mattioli Woodblocks in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection
By Jessie Wei-Hsuan Chen
The Dumbarton Oaks rare book collection holds three of the more than 100 surviving woodblocks in the editions of the Commentarii in sex libros Pedacii Dioscoridis de medica materia by Pietro Andrea Mattioli (1501–1577) that were published in 1562 and 1565. The Dumbarton Oaks woodblocks depict the plants Imperatoria, Galega sive ruta, and Lychnis.
Botanical Art and Ecosystem Preservation
By Nirupa Rao
Being only a few hours’ drive from Bangalore, the Ghats were where my family and I would escape the first chance we could, and so they have always held special significance. My maternal uncle was so in love with the area that he spent his scientific career documenting its flora for the Smithsonian Foundation. And so ever since I was a child, I have associated botany with adventure, discovery, and excitement.
