Prunus Cerasus from Icones Plantarum Medicinalium 1788 - 1812

Joseph Jakob Plenck made this botanical illustration of a sweet cherry, known as Prunus Cerasus, as part of his work Icones Plantarum Medicinalium. Plenck was an Austrian physician and botanist whose work sits at the intersection of scientific observation and artistic representation. At the time this was made, natural science was being used to classify and codify the natural world. This ambition carried deep ties to colonial expansion, establishing systems of knowledge production which continue to shape our understanding of the environment. Consider the role of botanical illustrations in the context of empire, where the documentation and classification of flora and fauna were integral to colonial projects of resource extraction. These detailed images reflect both a scientific interest in the natural world, and the ways in which nature becomes a site of power and control.