Oil and diseases, or the curious combination of agricultural research
Between the 1920s and 1960s, several painters and illustrators devote themselves to faithfully depicting plant diseases studied in Versailles at the agronomic research institute that, in 1946, becomes INRA.
The first artist recruited by the agronomic research institute (then known as the IRA) is Fernand Pétré in 1922. He establishes the drawing studio, and by 1930, Madeleine Huau joins him. This studio, which later becomes a “drawing unit,” produces hundreds of illustrations, mostly in pencil and oil paint — an unusual choice at a time when watercolour dominates botanical art.
The digitized drawings focus on phytopathology — plant diseases. The illustrations range from healthy leaves, roots, or fruits to the various stages in the development of different diseases. The pathologies are of various kinds: cryptogamic (or fungal), bacterial or viroid.
Melon canker. Painted drawing, Fernand Pétré, 1934.
The artist whose painted works are most numerous in the collection is Madeleine Huau (1906–1978), who trained at the École des Beaux-Arts (the School of Fine Arts) in Paris. She joins the IRA in 1930 as a scientific illustrator , while simultaneously pursuing her career as a painter. Even after her retirement in 1971, she continues to produce botanical illustrations, notably for the magazine Mon Jardin (My Garden), for the French Agricultural Technical Coordination Association (Association de Coordination Technique Agricole, or ACTA), and for various research laboratories.
Orchid mosaic disease on Miltonia. Painted drawing, Madeleine Huau, 1959.
Other illustrators also contribute painted or drawn plates, including Odette Staffler, François Gabut, and M.-C. Bergeron.
This selection of painted plates offers only a first glimpse into the rich output of the drawing unit. The digitized collection will continue to expand with future updates.
Bibliography
Chronique du centre de recherche de Versailles: 50 ans de recherche à l’INRA, 46–96. INRA, 1996 (Chronicle of the Versailles Research Centre: 50 Years of Research at INRA, 1946–1996 – in French).
Dupré, O., Cadot, Y., Feugey, L., Taha, M., & Lespinasse, Y. (in press). Des dessins, peintures de botanique et moulages de pommes des années 1920, au service de la recherche (Drawings, Botanical Paintings, and Apple Moulds from the 1920s in the Service of Research – in French). A journal published by the French National University Library (BNU).
