Fritillaria meleagris (almindelig vibeæg) 1635 - 1664

Hans Simon Holtzbecker made this botanical study of fritillaria meleagris with watercolour and gouache on vellum, but the precise date of its production is unknown. Holtzbecker was working in 17th-century Copenhagen, where the cultural institutions of the court and botanical science were intertwined. He was employed to record the plants in the royal gardens. The fashion for botanical compendia reflected not only scientific interest but also the power of the monarchy to command nature. The careful rendering and accurate labelling of the plant are typical of the period. Note how the image is both an artistic composition and an attempt at objective documentation. The subtle modelling of light and shadow gives a three-dimensional quality to the plant. Art historians use diverse sources to understand the institutional forces at play in art production, including archival records and scientific publications, which allow us to consider the meaning of this work as contingent on its cultural and institutional context.