When Pierre Jean François Turpin was born in France in 1775 as the son of an impoverished artist, nothing pointed to his successful career. But the late 18th century was a time of new beginnings and great explorers and discoverers. It offered people like Turpin opportunities they had never had before. After studying art at the École des Beaux-Arts in Vire, he joined the French army and became a soldier. His first stop was Haiti. There he met Alexandre Poiteau, who was a gardener at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. Poiteau taught Turpin botany and Turpin was enthralled. He quickly developed a knack for botany and together the two men explored the flora of Haiti. They created a herbarium of over 1200 plants. Now Turpin was able to put his great talent to work: drawing.
Pierre Turpin made detailed illustrations of the collected plants. These served as the basis for further research after the men returned to France. However, Turpin did not last long there. He wanted to make exciting discoveries and set out for Hispaniola and Tortuga and for further travels. In the USA, he met Alexander von Humboldt, with whom he later worked. He created over 900 images for Humboldt's American travel work. After working for the army again in Haiti - this time as a pharmacist - he settled in France and worked as a botanist, gardener and illustrator. In the process, the self-taught artist continued to educate himself. He did his own research, theorized and made his own discoveries. Thus, he contributed quite a bit to cell theory and the systematics of plants, especially freshwater algae.
Even during his lifetime, Turpin achieved great fame with his drawings. Thus, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe became aware of him and asked him to make a drawing of a primordial plant for him. Goethe had developed the idea of an original plant from which all other plants could be derived during a trip to Italy. Turpin was therefore asked to draw a plant that did not exist. He mastered this task with flying colors. Turpin's watercolors and drawings appeared in numerous books, including "Plantes Equinoxales" by Alexander von Humboldt, "Flora Brasiliae Meridionalis" by Augustin Saint-Hilaire and "Icones selectae plantarum" by Jules Paul Benjamin Delessert. He also worked on book projects with his old friend and patron Poiteau. Turpin taught his gifted son Pierre to draw and was heartbroken when he died suddenly at age 18. He cherished his son's last painting, an amaryllis, throughout his life and honored it with an inscription. The illustrations Turpin made during his life are still among the most beautiful botanical watercolors in the world and are popular as art prints.
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.jpg "The Lemon Tree, engraved by Dubois by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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 botanical plate c1820 - (MeisterDrucke-264786).jpg "Grape Vine (Vitis Vinifera) botanical plate by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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_Henry_Louis_Duhamel_du_Monceau_botanical_plate_b_-_(MeisterDrucke-1112723).jpg "Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo), botanical plate by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Common oregano, Origanum vulgare, with flower, leaf, stalk and seed (Illustration from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Apple \"Pomme d")
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.jpg "Apple \"Belle du Havre\", botanical plate by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Rice, Oryza Sativa by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-197609).jpg "Camomile (reproduction of a plate from")
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.jpg "White Water Lily, Nymphaea alba (from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Artichoke Plant, Leaves and Flower (Handcoloured Stipple Copperplate Engraving by Lambert) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Apple")
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.jpg "Sage officinale - Common sage, Salvia officinalis, with flower, leaf, stalk, and seed by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Garden Parsley, Petroselinum crispum, with Flower, Leaf, Stalk, Root, and Seed by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Pear \"Belle de Bruxelles\" by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Black Nightshade, Solanum Nigrum by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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_-_Common_haircap_moss_Common_polytrichum_Handcoloured_-_(MeisterDrucke-1003109).jpg "Common Haircap Moss, Common Polytrichum (from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "European peony, Paeonia officinalis, with flower, leaf and outline of flower parts (Illustration from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Yarrow, Achillea Millefolium by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Prune - Plum or Plum Tree, Prunus domestica, with Fruit, Leaf, Blossom, Branch and Ripe Fruit in Section. Handcoloured Stipple Copperplate Engraving by Lambert Junior from a Drawing by Pierre Jean-Francois Turpin from Chaumeton, Poiret and Chamberet")
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.jpg "American Ginseng by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "White or Silver Willow, White Wicker - White willow tree, Salix alba, with leaf, flower, male and female catkins, fruit and seed by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Rose de France or Rose de Provins - Rose, Rosa gallica, with bud, flower, leaf and thorny stem by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Onion, Allium cepa, with flower, leaf, bulb and roots by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Flax, Linum Sativum by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Plum")
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.jpg "Black Pepper (from")
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.jpg "Black Poplar Tree with Leaf, Stalk, and Seed. Handcoloured Stipple Copperplate Engraving by Lambert Junior from a Drawing by Pierre Jean-Francois Turpin from Chaumeton, Poiret and Chamberet")
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.jpg "Cabbage Flower, Brassica oleracea. Handcoloured stipple copperplate engraving from Chaumeton, Poiret et Chamberet")
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.jpg "Noble Cane - Sugar Cane by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Vine - Grape vine, Vitis vinifera, with fruit, leaf, tendril and stem by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare from")
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.jpg "Climbing Ivy (from")
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.jpg "Peach Tree, Amygdalus persica (from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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_with_leaf_flower_-_(MeisterDrucke-1001984).jpg "Castor oil plant, Ricinus communis, with leaf, flower, stalk, and seed by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Quinquina - Quinine or Peruvian bark tree, Cinchona officinalis, with flower, branch, leaf and seed. Handcoloured stipple copperplate engraving from Chaumeton, Poiret and Chamberet")
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.jpg "Cowslip, Primula veris (from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Common Milkwort (from")
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.jpg "Common Soapwort, Saponaria Officinalis by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Botany: potato - Potato plant, flowers and fruit, Solanum tuberosum by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Marigold, Calendula Officinalis by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "White Lily, Lilium candidum by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Wild Vine or Abuta, Cissampelos pareira, with Flower, Leaf, Tendril and Fruit by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Pear \"Cardinal\", botanical plate by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "German Medlar (from")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-985477).jpg "Water-Pepper, Persicaria hydropiper, with Flower, Stalk and Leaf by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Vanilla - Vanilla orchid, Epidendron vanilla, with flower, leaf, seedpod. Handcoloured stipple copperplate engraving by Lambert Junior from a drawing by Pierre Jean-Francois Turpin from Chaumeton, Poiret and Chamberet")
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.jpg "Pouliot Mint - Pennyroyal mint, Mentha pulegium, with flower, leaf, stalk, root and seed. Handcoloured stipple copperplate engraving from Chaumeton, Poiret and Chamberet")
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.jpg "Common Stinging Nettle, Urtica Dioica by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Plum")
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.jpg "Garden or opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, with flower, leaf and seedpod (Illustration from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Scots Pine, Pinus sylvestris (from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Feve de Saint Ignace - Jesus")
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.jpg "Verbena or Sacred Herb, Venus")
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.jpg "German Iris, Iris Germanica by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Chicory Plant and Flower, Cichorium Intybus by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Ipecacuanha, Psychotria Emetica by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Botany - Rosaceae - Apple")
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.jpg "Peppermint (from")
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.jpg "Indian nard, indicates, spicanard - Spikenard, Andropogon nardus, with leaf, root and flower by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Melisse des jardins or melisse cultivated - Common balm, Melissa hydrtensis by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Lycopod officinal or grass with clubs - Common club moss, Lycopodium clavatum by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Pomegranate Tree, Punica Granatum by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Large branch or large cycas seeds - Queen sago, Cycas circinalis, showing seed and section by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Apple \"Doux Amer Gris\" by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Dwarf Elder, Sambucus humilis by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Common Ash or Ash Eleve by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Lime Tree or Linden Tree by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Chinese Smilax, Smilax China by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Noble Cane - Sugar Cane by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-156765).jpg "Date tree and fruit, early nineteenth century by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Common Yew by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "The Banana Tree, from")
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.jpg "Melilot - Melilot trefoil, Melitotus officinarum (from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Purging Buckthorn, Rhamnus Cathartica by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Hart")
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.jpg "Pistachio Branch and Fruit by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Lie-bane or Stavesacre, Delphinium Staphisagria by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Assyrian plum or lasura, Cordia myxa, with flower, leaf, stalk and fruit by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Botanical: Squash Flower by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Melon (from")
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_-_Sweet_chestnut_tree_Castanea_sylvestris_-_(MeisterDrucke-985427).jpg "Chestnut Branch with Fruit - Sweet Chestnut Tree by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Carrot root and flower, Daucus carota. Handcoloured stipple copperplate engraving by Lambert from a drawing by Pierre Jean-Francois Turpin from Chaumeton, Poiret et Chamberet")
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_-_Orcein_or_archil_Roccella_tinctoria_lichen_-_(MeisterDrucke-1023597).jpg "Orcein or archil, Roccella tinctoria, lichen used for dye from the Cape Verde islands (Illustration from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
_-_Orcein_or_archil_Roccella_tinctoria_lichen_-_(MeisterDrucke-1023597).jpg)
_with_flower_branch_leaf_and_seed_-_(MeisterDrucke-946577).jpg "Ladenbergia oblongifolia (Cinchona magnifolia) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Pumpkin, Cucurbita pepo. Handcoloured stipple copperplate engraving from Chaumeton, Poiret et Chamberet")
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.jpg "Sabine Juniper, Juniperus Sabina by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Wild Rhubarb - Rhapontic or False Rhubarb by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Sweet Smelling Flag, Acorus Calamus by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Patience dock, Rumex patientia, with flower, stalk, leaves, seed and leaf outline (Illustration from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Purslane with Leaf, Stalk and Flower by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Marshmallow, Wild Marshmallow or White Mallow - Marsh mallow, Althaea officinalis by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Large elderberry or black elderberry - Common elder tree, Sambucus nigra by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Gummy ferule or galbanum - Galbanum, Ferula gummosa, showing flowers, leaves and seeds by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Galega by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1453703).jpg "Clove tree and clove, middle of the 19th century by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1453703).jpg)
_Henry_Louis_Duhamel_du_Monceau_botanical_plate_by_Pie_-_(MeisterDrucke-1101251).jpg "Cherry tree (Prunus avium), botanical plate by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
_Henry_Louis_Duhamel_du_Monceau_botanical_plate_by_Pie_-_(MeisterDrucke-1101251).jpg)
.jpg "Apple")
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.jpg "Crocus - Saffron crocus, Crocus sativus, showing flower, leaf, stem, bulb and stigma by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Barley, Hordeum vulgare, showing stalk, leaf and seed spike (Illustration from La Flore Medicale) by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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.jpg "Yellow Gentian or Great Gentian, Gentiana lutea by Pierre Jean Francois Turpin")
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