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Weinmann 18th Century Hand Colored Botanical Engraving "Ephemerum Virginianum"

Creator: Johann Wilhelm Weinmann
Offered by: Timeless Intaglio – Rare Prints, Maps & Books

Description
This colored botanical mezzotint and line engraving finished with hand coloring by Johann Wilhelm Weinmann (1683-1741) is entitled "A. Ephemerum Virginianu flore Purpureo, B. Ephemerum Virginianum flore Albo". It is plate 478 in Weinmann's monumental publication "Phytanthoza Iconographia", published in Amsterdam 1736-1748.

This engraving is printed on laid chain-linked watermarked paper measuring 15.75" x 9.5". A small spot in the lower margin on the left and an even smaller spot in the upper margin on the left appear to be related to the production of the paper. The print is in excellent condition.

Ephemerum Virginianum is also known as Virginia Spiderwort or Spider Lily. It is a tall but dainty perennial plant with long, bright-green, narrow leaves usually arising from a thick clump of slender, branched stalks topped by groups of blue or purplish, three-petaled flowers.

Johann Weinmann, a botanist and pharmacist directed a famous pharmacy in Regensburg. The Phytanthoza Iconographia was his masterpiece, a huge work in eight folio volumes, which provided one of the most comprehensive botanical references of the eighteenth century. It has been described as a "pioneering work of botanical prints” and it remains today one of the most ambitious works ever undertaken, displaying over 4,000 species.

The artist for the much of the work was the gifted and very collectible Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770). Born of a humble family in Heidelberg, Ehret was taught to draw by his father at an early age. As a young man, he worked as a gardener first for the Elector of Heidelburg and then the Margrave of Badaen-Durlac. He became a well respected botanist and entomologist and one of the most influential European botanical artists of all time.

More Information

Documentation:	Signed
Period:	Pre 18th Century
Creation Date:	1736
Styles / Movements:	Traditional
Incollect Reference #:	574398

Dimensions

W.	9.5 in;	H.	15.75 in;
W.	24.13 cm;	H.	40.01 cm;

Message from Seller:

Timeless Intaglio is an online gallery of rare and collectable antiquarian prints, maps and books. Although we specialize in all forms of vintage printed works on paper, the majority were created with the intaglio method of transferring ink from a plate, usually copper, to paper with a technique utilizing pressure generated by a press. Email us directly: rbreiman@timelessintaglio.com