British painter Tim Scott Bolton, botanical artist Helen Allen and botanist John Akeroyd visiting the Prince of Wales’s House in Viscri

The Prince of Wales’s House in Viscri hosts, until September 3, 2023, the watercolor and oil painting exhibition of the British painter Tim Scott Bolton, “Transylvanian Landscapes”. In the reconverted barn of the house in Viscri, 37 original works made by Tim Scott Bolton during his travels in Romania will be exhibited, ranging from the first visit in 2002, until the trip made in 2017 at the invitation of King Charles III, then HRH the Prince of Wales. During the same period, the lithographs of two watercolors made by His Majesty King Charles III are also on display.

“The majority of the paintings are of Transylvania, with a few from near Budești in the far north. I find the rural scene totally irresistible, the texture of the buildings, the brightly painted houses, and the people going about daily life in a leisurely, yet sustainable manner. There are two aspects that attracted me to this part of Saxon Transylvania – first, the bucolic way of life mentioned above, and secondly the compact villages cluster,” says Tim Scott Bolton.

The T. S. Bolton exhibition is part of a series of events that focus on the landscape of the Transylvanian villages and the wild flora of the area.

“This year marks more than 10 years since work began on The Transylvania Florilegium and 5 since its publication, at the request of His Majesty, then HRH the Prince of Wales. On this occasion, Dr. John Akeroyd and Helen Allen return to Viscri, as lecturers in the workshop organized by Irina Neacșu and Cembra School of Arts, recreating for the participants the experience of working at the florilegium. Tim Scott Bolton, Dr. John Akeroyd and Helen Allen are true ambassadors of this area, and their presence in Viscri honours us every time” – Raluca Grigore, The Prince of Wales’s House in Viscri representative.

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For The Transylvania Florilegium, the botanist Dr John Akeroyd, an authority on European plants who has been working on Transylvanian flora for over twenty years now, drew up a list of important plants and together with Helen Allen, artist and Principal of The School of Botanical Art at The Chelsea Physic Garden, accompanied a highly-accomplished group of international artists to Romania. The group was made up of leading botanical artists from America, Australia, England, France, Holland, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey.

“I was captivated by the countryside and the villages and gardens of Transylvania, since the first visit. Five of the seven trips with the artists, to capture the wild flowers growing in the nearby meadows, were in Viscri. To be back here for this very special anniversary and to teach this workshop is a joy and a privilege. Participants will share the experience of the artists who worked at The Transylvania Florilegium, walking the meadows and understanding the botany with Dr. John Akeroyd, and create their own masterpieces,” says botanical artist Helen Allen.

Dr. John Akeroyd first came to Transyxlvania in 2000 and fell in love with the diversity of wild flora. He has since devoted much of his time to studying and promoting these grasslands, which, despite ever-present threats, remain an integral part of rural agriculture.

“For me, the Transylvania Florilegium was a unique opportunity to record a ‘snapshot’ of this floral diversity in what is working farmland, not a nature reserve. For Romania, the flowers of this area, including some 60 wild relatives of crop plants, are a precious living resource that must be conserved. The plants depicted in the Florilegium comprise just a sample of the 1200 or more wildflowers present in this area, and across into the adjacent Olt Valley. Not only is this special flora one that HM King Charles III has come to know and love on his visits, but also southern Transylvania has since become world famous for its wildflowers, which now attract visitors, alongside the famous architecture and traditional culture. The wildflowers of the Transylvania Florilegium are not images of some lost richness, but icons of a countryside that still combines natural beauty with a living productive ecosystem. Many of them have been lost elsewhere in Europe and we must be diligent in their protection. Ignorance is the worst enemy of conservation, and publicity is a key weapon in the fight to protect them in Romania. The Transylvania Florilegium and other initiatives are a start,” says Dr. John Akeroyd.

The permanent exhibition in The Prince of Wales’s House in Viscri, “The Transylvania Florilegium”, focuses on the two volumes of the florilegium published in 2018, as well as a series of illustrations from them.

Address of The Prince of Wales’s House in Viscri: Viscri 163 (Str. Principală nr. 163), Viscri, Județul Brașov.