Tulips – Johann Theodor de Bry + Matthaeus Merian, 1719

TULIPS

Copper engraving made by Johann Theodor de Bry, published in 1719 as part of the “Viridarium Reformatum” by the German physician and naturalist Michael Bernhard Valentini. Coloured by a later hand. Size: 27 × 17 cm.

After the unprecedented tulip trade and mania of the 17th century, by the early 18th century the tulip had become an established and esteemed flower in the Netherlands. Although the speculative bubble had burst, tulip cultivation remained a respectable industry.

In the 18th century, bulb cultivation was especially concentrated in the Duin- en Bollenstreek (Dune and Bulb Region) around Haarlem, Lisse, Hillegom, and other areas with suitable sandy soils. Growers focused on propagating tulip bulbs and developing new cultivars with distinctive colors and forms. Bulbs were planted in autumn and bloomed in spring, after which the foliage was left standing until it withered to allow the bulbs to store sufficient nutrients for the next season.

The Viridarium Reformatum, seu Regnum Vegetabile (“The Revised Garden, or Kingdom of Plants”) is a herbal with engravings of plants, divided over 16 sections. The illustrations depict both native and exotic species, including tulips, lilies, and other flowers. Thanks to the precise illustrations and descriptions, it became possible to better identify and study plants, and the work was widely used by physicians, apothecaries, and botanists of the time.

Michael Bernhard Valentini (1657–1729), a German physician, professor of medicine, and collector of naturalia, reused many plates from the Florilegium renovatum et auctum (1641) by Johann Theodor de Bry and his son-in-law Matthaeus Merian, turning his “botanical library” with 1,600 engravings into an artistic masterpiece as well.

Price: Euro 350,-