Gainsborough’s House and Caroline Holmes would like to invite you to the signing of Caroline’s new book ‘Water Lilies and Bory Latour-Marliac, the genius behind Monet’s Water Lilies’ on Friday 20th November from 6pm to 8pm in the Exhibition Gallery at Gainsborough’s House. RSVP Liz Cooper at Gainsborough’s House liz@gainsborough.org.
Water Lilies and Bory Latour-Marliac, the genius behind Monet’s Water Lilies Water lilies are inextricably linked to the ancient cultures of Greece and Rome, Egypt and the Far East, where they were highly valued, just as precious metals or gemstones, their properties were thought to be medicinal, spiritual and purely aesthetic; they have been represented in architecture, printed textiles, religious paintings and illustrations, cited in mythology, folklore, mysticism and the creative imagination.
This volume meticulously records our enduring love affair with the most beautiful and exotic of plants, the water lily rising from its murky depths to colourful floral perfection. This is a comprehensive and detailed account of harnessing and translating their beauty for more northerly climes. A task undertaken with gusto, passion and devotion by Bory Latour-Marliac (1830-1911), long before Mendel’s work was known he engineered daring water lily couplings with consummate skill, meticulous care and acute observation. His previously unrecorded letters have provided new insights into his science, friends and customers. His finest hybrids were propagated, cultivated and launched across the world, in turn these hardy colourful water lilies inspired generations of gardeners, nurserymen, artists and writers to create the words and images that flow through our culture today.