Narcissus jonquilla (siv-narcis); Narcissus tazetta (tazet); Narcissus pseudonarcissus moschatus (moskus-narcis); Narcissus poeticus (pinselilje) 1649 - 1659

Curator: Isn’t it extraordinary? The luminosity of the watercolors… it just seems to lift these narcissi right off the page. There’s something so… eager about them. Editor: It strikes me as strangely melancholy. Each blossom rendered with precision, yet almost pinned to the parchment like specimens. A celebration, but also a kind of forced documentation. Curator: We're looking at a botanical study by Hans Simon Holtzbecker, done sometime between 1649 and 1659. It's called “Narcissus jonquilla, tazetta, pseudonarcissus moschatus, and poeticus,” all meticulously rendered with watercolor and gouache. Quite a mouthful, isn't it? Editor: Oh, definitely a verbal bouquet! Beyond the clinical names, I notice how Holtzbecker portrays the bulbs and roots—they're almost given equal weight to the flowers themselves. That’s quite unconventional. Usually, botanical illustration favors the bloom. Curator: It makes me think about hidden potential, doesn't it? The promise held within, the connection to the earth. Narcissus, of course, brings to mind the Greek myth. Obsession with the self. Do you think Holtzbecker was making a statement about vanity, even with a piece like this? Editor: Holtzbecker was working at a time when gardens were very deliberately cultivated spaces. Highly manicured flowers and plant collections represented social status and worldliness. The choice of narcissus carries its own coded visual messaging. So, if we acknowledge that the bulb is essential, what the root extracts, how it finds sustenance, then yeah, there’s a dialogue beyond surface beauty being created here. Curator: Exactly! There is almost a scientific approach. You see not just the delicate flower but also the very origin of the plant on display. This detailed focus expands beyond an aesthetic expression. Editor: What remains is this intense stillness… a silence amplified by such precise artistry. Perhaps the intention was also capturing and documenting this silent communication. It asks us what we extract from beauty, from ourselves. Curator: Yes, well put. An eloquent statement, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Absolutely, leaving me to see these daffodils as more than just blooms.