Aster amellus (virgil-asters); Symphyotrichum novi-belgii (nybelgisk asters); Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (nyengelsk asters); Symphyotrichum dumosum (pude-asters); Symphyotrichum ericoides (lyng-asters) 1649 - 1659

Curator: Oh, the delicacy of these blooms! Holtzbecker captured such gentle detail... Editor: These aster drawings strike me immediately as soothing, almost dreamlike. There's a quiet, meditative quality, don’t you think? Curator: Absolutely. This beautiful botanical study from the Baroque period—drawn sometime between 1649 and 1659—is rendered in watercolor and gouache, with such scientific precision that the piece manages to also feel beautifully organic. Editor: Botanicals often do straddle that line between art and scientific record. The symmetry suggests a deeper harmony… almost a platonic ideal of each flower? I'm struck by how similar yet individual each stem appears. Is this about recognizing unity through variations? Curator: It's incredibly astute to say so! Within this single drawing we see at least five types of Aster, meticulously rendered on paper. The artist not only wanted to present a botanical subject but a deep exploration of that subject. We aren't seeing just any aster, but a multitude of aster varieties from across the continent... Perhaps a glimpse into a garden in bloom? Editor: Yes! The aster—or starwort—flower also carries a ton of celestial symbolism; its very name echoes concepts of fate, light, and the cosmos. Consider too the traditional associations: devotion, patience... They all seem reflected in these gentle blues, whites, and greens. Curator: A veritable galaxy of flower symbolism captured on one page... I think my favorite bit of all is how he lets the colors bleed softly at the edges of each petal. Gives them that extra breath of life, eh? Editor: And to know these pigments were carefully laid down over three centuries ago...it does give one pause. It highlights the quiet endurance of beauty—that delicate brushstrokes could outlive empires and revolutions! It truly offers a new perspective to viewing art, doesn't it?