I love old botanical and animal illustrations. Done by bespectacled scientists and artists on expeditions and in arboretums and European gardens of years past. Depicting magnificent flora and fauna, with great precision and vibrant colors.
Like these, from "Livres de Fleurs" a book by François L’Anglois from 1620...
The colors and drawings are just wonderful...
... as are the little banners with Latin names.
How gorgeous are the yellow and purple together? I think I'll try to dress tomorrow in these colors!
This owl just breaks my heart, so beautifully drawn. As are the little blue, gentle daisies.
This must have been quite a spectacular place, where monsieur François L’Anglois drew, quite a magic garden.
Even the white seems like a lovely color. White and green, fresh and fragrant. And the adorable little bird with white feather cheeks.
Lovely roses - they look like Japanese roses to me, what do you think?
How beautiful are this Kingfisher's feathers!
My goodness! The blue, the purple!
I just had to exclaim. :)
Plates from François L’Anglois’ Livre de Fleurs (Paris, Joan le Clerc, 1620).
About the book:
"These 17th-century plates depict garden flowers such as irises and tulips along with songbirds and insects. Elaborately curled banners display pre-Linnaean Latin names. According to Lucia Tongiorgi Tomasi in An Oak Spring Flora(Upperville, Oak Spring Garden Library, 1997), L’Anglois worked not only as an artist and engraver but also as a bookseller and art dealer who eventually opened a shop in Paris where he produced engraved prints.
The title page for Livre de Fleurswas designed by L’Anglois and engraved by German engraver Léonard Gaultier (1561–1641), who also worked in Paris. The plates were all drawn and engraved by L’Anglois himself, emphasizing the decorative aspects of the flora and fauna depicted. {text from here}
xoxoxo
