1815,BESSA HERBIER GENERAL HandPainted ENGR. PRIMULA SINENSIS R1C

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1815,BESSA HERBIER GENERAL HandPainted ENGR. PRIMULA SINENSIS R1C:
$9.99

Title Title

"Herbier Général de l\'Amateur"

Author/Artist

Pancrace Bessa.

Date

1815-1836

Sizes

6"3/8 x 10" (16,0 x 25,5 cm)

Description

Color stipple engraving. Names in Latin. Rare with beautiful original hand coloring.

"Herbier Général de l\'Amateur"

By Pancrace Bessa

Biography of the Artist.

Pancrace Bessa (1772– 1846)

Bessa was born in the Marais district of Paris in 1772 and was a French natural history artist, best known for his botanical illustrations.Pancrace Bessa studied at the Muséum National d\'Histoire Naturelle in Paris (commonly known as the Jardin des Plantes) and was briefly a pupil of the engraver and botanical illustrator Gerard van Spaendonck. He was most influenced by the work of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, with whom he also studied. Bessa probably accompanied Redouté as part of Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt in 1798, and later collaborated with him on the illustrations for François-André Michaux’s Arbres forestiers de l’Amérique septentrionale, published between 1810 and 1813. Bessa was hired as a peintre des fleursto portray rare plants for the famous collection of vélins— the paintings on vellum begun in the mid-17th century for Gaston d\'Orleans, inherited by Louis XIV and transferred to the Jardin du Roi (renamed the Muséum National d\'Histoire Naturelle in 1793). Through the connections he made at the Muséum, Pancrace Bessa illustrated some of the most important botanical publications by the leading French botanists, horticulturists and agriculturists of the day, portraying new species of fruits, flowers and trees from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia. Bessa was also a teacher of flower painting, and one of his pupils was also his patroness—the Duchess du Berry, sister-in-law of Charles X.

In 1808 Bessa published his first work under his own name alone; a series of twenty-four stipple engravings entitled "Fleurs et Fruits gravés et coloriés sur les peintures aquarelles faites d’après nature". He appears to have enjoyed depicting fruit, and other books he illustrated include Louis-Claude Noisette’s Le jardin fruitier, which first appeared in 1813, and Etienne Michel’s Traité du citronier, published in 1816. As highly regarded in his day as both van Spaendonck and Redouté, Bessa was, however, less prolific than either. Nevertheless, his works were in great demand among wealthy French, Royal and foreign collectors; as the contemporary French writer on art Charles Paul Landon noted in 1810, ‘So far as flower and fruit pieces are concerned, there seems to be a strong competition between Redouté and Bessa, being both equally talented, hard-working and successful.’

Description of the work.

Bessa’s most important commission, however, was for a series of 572 watercolours on vellum to illustrate Jean-Claude-Michel Mordant de Launay’s "Herbier général de l’amateur", commissioned by Charles X, King of France and arguably the most significant French flower book of the day. Published in eight volumes, the project was begun in 1815 and the artist worked on the series until 1826.

Pancrace Bessa’s original watercolours for the Herbier général de l’amateur remained together for over 120 years. In 1826 the entire series of drawings on vellum was given by King Charles X (1757-1836) to his daughter-in-law, the Duchesse de Berri, born Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily (1798-1870).Forty-six watercolours by Bessa for the Herbier général de l’amateur are today in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, other drawings on vellum ar now at the Royal Horticultural Society in London.

The magnificent talent of Bessa is portrayed in the superb plates showing a wide variety of flowers (including lilacs and tulips) and fruits. The flawless creamy-white paper allows the brilliance of color and nuance of tonality to shine through.

Each engraved plate is in octavoedition and measure approximately 6” 3/8 by 15”(16,0by 25,5 cm).

The condition of these prints is superb, with characteristic strong plate.Superbly handcoloured on wonderful hand made paper. There is few or no foxing on clean paper.

This plate iswith the descriptive text, with names of the plants in Latin.

Bibliography Reference: Nissen, BBI 2323; Sitwell, Great Flower Books, p.159; Pritzel 6418.

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