1801 Cytisus, Bessa, folio stipple engraving, hand colour, botany

Cytisus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to open sites (typically scrub and heathland) in Europe, western Asia and North Africa. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and is one of several genera in the tribe Genisteae which are commonly called brooms. 

Bessa, P. (illus). 

Jerry (engraved by). 

Paris ca. 1801- 1819. 

Stipple engraving printed in color with added hand colour

Sheet 39.3 x 25.1 cm

An exquisite example of French botanical art at its high point in the early nineteenth century, this fine print is by Pancrace Bessa (a contemporary of P.J. Redoute), interpreted in the delicate medium of stipple engraving by Gabriel. It was published in "Traite des Arbres et Arbustes que l'on cultive en france en pleine terre. Seconde edition 'nouveau Duhamel' considerablement augmentee" (Dunthorne 243), a multi volume work documenting trees and shrubs cultivated in France and a showcase for the artistry of P.J. Redoute and Pancrace Bessa.