Georg Dionysius Ehret (Born in 1708) was born in Heidelberg, Germany. It was here that he became a gardener at a local castle and developed his artistic interests. He began by drawing plants for a local apothecary and later for Christoph Trew, his first patron who was a Nuremberg physician and botanist. Ehret was able to further develop his skills and became recognized as an outstanding botanical artist as a result of the new exotic plants that were being introduced to Germany and then coming into the possession of Christoph. The artist lived at a time of enlightenment and scientific discovery in Europe, dabbed a “golden age of botanical art.” His unique clarity and style of plant illustration was immediately useful and sought out by specialists. Some of his artworks were used in Christoph's published work, and includes the one currently on display. Many of his sketches and finished works that were once owned and used by Sir Banks Joseph are also held in the Natural History Museum.
They form part of the “Banksian Collections.” In around 1736 before he went to England, he spent 2 years in France, briefly in Paris at the Jardin des Plantes, where he met Claude Aubriet the renowned King's painter. His methods changed as a result of his observations, favoring to paint on vellum and in body color. He also traveled to Holland, where he met Carl Linnaeus, the great academic and botanist. The two became good friends through correspondence and common botanical interests. They worked at Georg Clifford's estate, located south of Haarlem.
