Viola 1485

Johannes de Cuba’s 1485 illustration, “Viola”, depicts a cluster of violets with their delicate blue flowers and green leaves against a textured parchment background. This small-scale herbal illustration exemplifies the detailed, hand-colored style of German botanical illustrations. “Viola” is a beautifully crafted piece which exhibits the meticulous attention to detail characteristic of the period and its focus on the practical applications of botany. It was a common practice in the 15th century to create herbals, which contained illustrations and descriptions of various plants, used for medicinal and culinary purposes. This illustrative art was a valuable tool for the dissemination of knowledge about the natural world.