Besler Engraving with original color

BESLER, Basilius (1561-1629).
I. Thalictrum Flore incar, Nato. II. Thalictrum Flori Albo. III. Fumaria tenuifolia Flori Niveo. Plate 25.
Engraving with original hand color from Horus Eystettensis.
Eichstatt and Nuremburg, 1613-40.
18" x 22 1/2" sheet.
Besler's great botanical work is a landmark of botanical docmentation and pre-Linnaean classification. It is also one of the msot splendidly stylized and aesthetically powerful botanical works produced to date. Besler was an apothecary and botanist who managed the gardens of Biship Johann Conrad in Eichstatt, Germany. This Bishop's garden was one of the largest in Europe, containing a variety of shrubs and flowering palnts. Besler used this resource as the basis for Hortus Eystettenis, observing and depicting over a thousand flowers, representing over 667 species. Besler worked as both an artist and publisher with the bishop's patronage, crafting 374 plates over 16 years with his team of artists. Besler attempted to classify these plants 150 years before Linnaeus created his system of classification.