Atropa belladonna (galnebær) 1649 - 1659

Hans Simon Holtzbecker rendered this image of Atropa belladonna, or deadly nightshade, using watercolor and gouache. It is a plant portrait drawn in a moment when both art and science were deeply entwined. Holtzbecker was working in a time when the boundaries of medicine, witchcraft, and the natural sciences were porous, and his plant portrait sits at this intersection. Belladonna, with its alluring purple flowers and shiny black berries, has a long and complicated history. It has been both a beauty aid, used to dilate women’s pupils, and a deadly poison—hence its name. Its poisonous properties made it useful for both medicine and murder. It is easy to imagine the leaves and berries carefully collected, distilled, and deployed for any number of purposes, nefarious or restorative. Holtzbecker captures this tension, between the aesthetic beauty and the plant's sinister potential.