Basilius Besler (1561 – 1629) was an apothecary from Nuremberg who set a new standard for botanical images by depicting plants as exquisitely beautiful. Besler was commissioned by Bishop Johann Konrad von Gemmingen to create engravings of the 1,084 flowers in his immense garden. As a result, the artist spent 16 years designing 367 colored plates. Many of the plants were imported from the America and the Ottoman Empire, and all were portrayed life-size. All future flower books followed the standard set by Besler’s remarkable, detailed plant imagery.
This giclée print delivers a vivid image with maximum color accuracy and exceptional resolution. The standard for museums and galleries around the world, giclée (French for “to spray”) is a printing process where millions of ink droplets are sprayed onto the paper’s surface. With the great degree of detail and smooth transitions of color gradients, giclée prints appear much more realistic than other reproduction prints. The high-quality paper (235 gsm) is acid free with a smooth surface.