Beschreibung:

Hans Simon Holtzbecker (d. 1671). THE MOLLER FLORILEGIUM. [HAMBURG: C. 1665] 2 (376 x 245mm). Manuscript flower album containing an elaborately painted floral frontispiece incorporating the Moller arms, and 207 flower drawings, including tulips, daffodils and narcissi, crocuses, hyacinths and fritillaria. in watercolour and bodycolour. oc casionally with black chalk sketching visible underneath, on 88 vellum leaves, with paper interleaves. Contemporary German dark red morocco gilt, edges gilt and gauffered, remains of two claps with silver catches (scuffed). A BOTANICAL ALBUM OF OUTSTANDING BEAUTY, THE MOLLER FLORILEGIUM IS A REDISCOVERED MASTERPIECE AND A SIGNIFICANT ADDITION TO THE NEWLY IDENTIFIED OEUVRE OF ONE OF THE FINEST GERMAN BOTANICAL ARTISTS OF THE 17TH CENTURY, HANS SIMON HOLTZBECKER. See separate catalogue. , painted on one (skin) side only. Paper interleaves watermarked with fleur-de-lis and pendant initials WR/W (similar to but not identical with those in Piccard from the Upper Rhein and Alsace, mainly 17th-century), often with countermark IHS, or fleur-de-lis with pendant G, 9 blank vellum leaves, one each bound after the frontispiece and sections of crocuses, stars of Bethlehem, and amaryllis, 3 after the tulips, and 2 at the end of the volume; at beginning and end are bound 3 and 14 paper leaves, respectively. A few later pencilled identifications on paper leaves, tulips faintly numbered in pencil at base of stem. (Leaf 36 of hyacinths slightly damaged, very slight paint flecking from 10 leaves, almost exclusively affecting foliage.) Contemporary German dark red morocco, double gilt fillet around sides, small cinquefoil at corners, spine with 6 raised bands tooled with gilt fillets, gilt edges gauffered at edges, remains of two leather clasps with silver catches on front cover (scuffed). A BOTANICAL ALBUM OF OUTSTANDING BEAUTY, THE MOLLER FLORILEGIUM IS A REDISCOVERED MASTERPIECE AND A SIGNIFICANT ADDITION TO THE NEWLY IDENTIFIED OEUVRE OF ONE OF THE FINEST GERMAN BOTANICAL ARTISTS OF THE 17TH CENTURY, HANS SIMON HOLTZBECKER. It was created for Barthold Moller (1605-1667), a prominent mayor of Hamburg, and its quality of painting, its choice selection of flowers, its rich vellum leaves, and its contemporary binding of red morocco all attest to the high status of its patron and to the remarkable skill of its artist. That such sumptuous treatment has been lavished on the creation of the album reflects the 17th-century conception of the flower as an object of infinite beauty and fascination. Presumed lost until its recent rediscovery, the Moller Florilegium may now be recognised as the work of Holtzbecker, a noted botanical artist of Hamburg. Although he enjoyed a great reputation during his lifetime, when his work was commissioned by the wealthy and the noble, Holtzbecker has gone unrecognised in the intervening centuries. This gross oversight is due to the rarity of his work -- he executed approximately 3000 flower paintings, but they are contained in only 4 works (in 11 volumes) --, but even more to the unfortunate misattribution of his masterpieces. Thus his slightly later compatriot, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), herself a great botanical artist, has until recently been credited with almost all of Holtzbecker's known work. While the attribution to Merian is patently false, the two artists share nationality, subject matter, and some stylistic treatment. Merian, step-daughter of the still-life painter Jacob Marrel was one of the foremost German botanical artists of her day (she was just younger than Holtzbecker), known in particular for the published editions of her work, Blumenbuch , Raupenbuch and her magnum opus, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensis . Her celebrity has contributed to numerous false attributions, some meant to deceive, and others resulting from want of rigorous study, as in the case of Holtzbecker. Examples of the work of Nicolas Robert and Barbara Regina Dietzsch have also