Cornflower or Knapweed – Centaurea atropurpurea after Ledel for Wald.

This superb original botanical watercolor is from a manuscript entitled Hortus Botanicus which illustrated plants according to the Linnaean system and Willdenow’s revisions. The manuscript was completed in Vienna between 1810 and 1820. The paper is dutch and datable to the late 18th and early 19th century. There are watermarks from the makers of C.& J. Honig, J. Kool, J. Villedary, and D. & C. Blauw.

Karl Ludwig Willdenow completed a comprehensive and influential revision of Sir Charles Linnaeus’s Species Plantarum with his work Series plantarum and dated between 1797 and 1805. This collection follows the revisions Willdenow created and is profusely illustrated.

Each watercolor details the sources for the illustration in the lower nomenclature. The original artist is named in the left corner and the right corner states the source work of the original illustration. The watercolor artist for the manuscript is unknown. A good portion of the watercolors were after Jacquin’s works including Icones plantarum rariores, Florae Austriacae, and Plantarum rariorum Horti Caesarei Schoenbrunnensis. Illustrations were also after Aiton, William Curtis, Oeder, Scopoli, Cavanilles, Besler, Rheede, Roxburgh, Banks, and Pallas.

Provenance: Library of Henry Rogers Broughton