ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: NATANAEL NASCIMENTO

Compiled by Domingos Cardoso

Natanael Nascimento graduated in biological sciences at the Universidade Federal da Bahia, in Salvador, Brazil and has dedicated his career to scientific illustration in botany. Working closely with Domingos Cardoso, Natanael has illustrated a series of new legume species over the last few years including Aeschynomene chicocesariana D.B.O.S. Cardoso & G. Ramos, and the remarkable new giant Atlantic rainforest tree Dipteryx hermetopascoaliana C.S. Carvalho, H.C. Lima & D.B.O.S. Cardoso, both illusrated here. The latter species is highlighted in the 2022 New Legume Species Highlights section (page 35). Other recent plates include several stunning new species of the genus Harpalyce, Rhynchosia franciscana L.P. Queiroz & D.B.O.S. Cardoso, and upcoming monographic sets of drawings of species of the genera Monopteryx and Dipteryx.

Dipteryx hermetopascoaliana C.S. Carvalho, H.C. Lima & D.B.O.S. Cardoso (Papilionoideae), illustrated by Natanael Nascimento and published in Carvalho et al., Bot. J. Linn. Soc. (2023).

In 2018, Natanael won the prestigious Margaret Flockton Prize awarded by the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Australia (https://www.botanicalartandartists.com/news/nataneal-nascimento-wins-margaret-flockton-award-2018). All of his illustrations are made with Photoshop using a pen tablet. Of course, Natanael’s work is not confined to legumes. For example, he also did the scientific illustrations for a book on the Brazilian Asteraceae (https://repositorio.ufba.br/handle/ri/31892). Latterly, Natanael has been working on tattoos, spreading the beauty of nature and plants via his designs on people’s bodies!

Further information about Natanael is on his website @natan.bio
(https://www.instagram.com/natan.bio/)

Aeschynomene chicocesariana D.B.O.S. Cardoso & G. Ramos (Papilionoideae), illustrated by Natanael Nascimento and published in Cardoso et al., Syst. Bot. (2019).