Ocimum latifolium magnim/ Ocimum crispum viride/ Ocimum minimum cario phyllatum

Title

Ocimum latifolium magnim/ Ocimum crispum viride/ Ocimum minimum cario phyllatum

Description

Splendourful representation of 3 Basil, Thai Basil, or Sweet Basil, a common name for the culinary herb Ocimum basilicum, of the family Lamiaceae (mints), sometimes known as Saint Josephs Wort in some English-speaking countries. 1.edition of the Hortus Eystettensis, printed and issued from Basilius Besler in Nuremberg 1613. In 2013 was the 400 anniversary of the first edition!

ca. 1613

Artist

Besler (1561-1629)

Basilius Besler (1561–1629) was a respected Nuremberg apothecary and botanist, best known for his monumental Hortus Eystettensis. He was curator of the garden of Johann Konrad von Gemmingen, prince bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. The bishop was an enthusiastic botanist who derived great pleasure from his garden, which was the only important European botanical garden outside Italy. The work was named Hortus Eystettensis (Garden at Eichstätt). The emphasis in botanicals of previous centuries had been on medicinal and culinary herbs, and these had usually been depicted in a crude manner. The images were often inadequate for identification, and had little claim to being aesthetic. The Hortus Eystettensis changed botanical art overnight. The plates were of garden flowers, herbs and vegetables, exotic plants such as castor-oil and arum lilies. These were depicted near life-size, producing rich detail. The layout was artistically pleasing and quite modern in concept, with the hand-colouring adding greatly to the final effect. The work was first published in 1613 and consisted of 367 copper engravings, with an average of three plants per page, so that a total of 1084 species were depicted.