Robert John Thornton
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John Russell and Francesco Bartolozzi
Temple of Flora 1799
Temple of Flora 1799
Robert John Thornton (1768-1837) was an English physician and botanical writer, noted for "New Illustration of the Sexual System of Linnæus" (1797-1807) and "The British Flora" of 1812.
He was the son of Bonnell Thornton and studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1793 and worked at Guy's Hospital in London, where he later lectured in medical botany. After spending some time abroad, he settled and practised in London. He developed an enthusiasm for nature early in his education, and switched from the church to medicine, after being inspired by lectures on botany at Trinity College. Robert inherited the family fortune after the death of both his brother and mother.
The most ambitious part of the "New Illustration of the Sexual System of Linnæus" was Part III, the "Temple of Flora" (1799-1807)[1]. The first plates were engraved by Thomas Medland (1755-1833) in May 1798 from paintings by Philip Reinagle. Between 1798 and 1807 they produced a total of thirty-three coloured plates, engraved in aquatint, stipple and line. When he planned the project, Thornton had decided to publish seventy folio-size plates. Lack of interest from the general public spelled disaster for the scheme, and the holding of a lottery could not save it from financial ruin, neither did a page in the work dedicated to the spouse of George III, Queen Charlotte, patroness of botany and the fine arts - Thornton died destitute.
