Tulipa gesneriana var. dracontia (Parrot Tulip)

Pierre-Joseph Redouté's phenomenal skill as a botanical illustrator was clearly equaled by his skill as a diplomat, for he enjoyed the patronage of both Marie Antoinette and Josephine Bonaparte. Many of the lilies illustrated in Les Liliacées were cultivated in Josephine's large greenhouse-heated by twelve coal-fired stoves-at her country residence Malmaison.