Consolida ajacis (have-ridderspore) 1649 - 1659

Curator: Ah, this image immediately calls to mind old apothecary manuals. There’s something about the precise, almost clinical way the plants are depicted that feels very…scientific. Editor: This is indeed a watercolour and gouache drawing called Consolida ajacis (have-ridderspore), attributed to Hans Simon Holtzbecker, created sometime between 1649 and 1659. Curator: Holtzbecker, you say? I am curious how you would feel seeing yourself rendered this way, as though reduced to component parts on the page... a strange form of immortality perhaps. Editor: Holtzbecker clearly paid great attention to detail. Observe the rendering of each individual petal and leaf. I am also intrigued by Holtzbecker's conscious decision to showcase two distinct specimens side-by-side on the same sheet. Perhaps drawing some implicit parallels. Curator: Or contrasts? The palette is so subtle, but the differences in shade underscore divergent emotional tones for me. One pale, one dark. Is this about light and shadow, death and life? Editor: Well, the Have-Ridderspore is interesting because of its historical association with protection, especially against witchcraft. Given the period when this was drawn, superstition was still fairly prevalent. Curator: A charm against darkness… that aligns with its visual presence on the page; there’s a definite feeling of warding something off with that vibrant purple. Editor: Absolutely. What Holtzbecker may have sought to illustrate is not just botanical accuracy, but symbolic power embedded within nature itself. Each carefully rendered line contributes towards a bigger narrative. Curator: It all makes me ponder our relationship to flora; reducing organic beauty down into codes of meaning through art changes our connection, I think. Does that sever or deepen our roots to these things? Editor: Fascinating, the painting makes you question your very roots, whereas it evokes a rather pragmatic assessment to me. I suspect it's probably some of both!