Arcadópolis
Pansies
Louisa Anne Meredith, 1836
What you see
Six pansies gather in an upright bunch, with leaves and stems trailing below. Each one is different: at the top, a purple one with a white and yellow center; on the right, a yellow one with purple patches; in the middle, a white one veined in violet beside a deep purple one; at the bottom, a yellow one with reddish blotches. Closed buds droop at the sides.
Deep purples and clean yellows take turns, and the white paper makes them stand out. The dark veins radiating from the center of each petal are drawn one by one in very fine lines. Watch for the lilac pansy almost hidden at the lower left and the small yellow and green eye at the heart of every flower.
About Louisa Anne Meredith
Louisa Anne Meredith was born in Birmingham and, before she married, had already published in England, under her maiden name, Twamley, books of poems and flowers illustrated by herself. In 1839 she married and emigrated to Australia, and from 1840 she lived in Tasmania. A writer, naturalist and illustrator, she painted the flowers, birds and insects of the Tasmanian bush in great detail, and published her plates in books such as “Some of My Bush Friends in Tasmania”. She was also a member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
More by Louisa Anne Meredith
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