Scilla bifolia (tobladet skilla); Hyacinthus orientalis (almindelig hyacint); Scilla amoena (himmelblå skilla) 1649 - 1659

This botanical study was rendered in watercolor on paper by Hans Simon Holtzbecker in the 17th century. Holtzbecker has achieved striking verisimilitude in his depiction of these flowering plants. The watercolor medium lends itself to a remarkable level of detail, capturing the texture and delicate structure of the bulbs, leaves, and flower heads of the Scilla bifolia, Hyacinthus orientalis, and Scilla amoena. But this image is also a key example of craft’s relationship to capitalism. Botanical drawings such as these were highly valued as scientific documents, often commissioned by wealthy patrons eager to classify species in their gardens, which would be tended by servants. In this way, Holtzbecker's artwork reflects both an aesthetic appreciation and the social hierarchy of the time, in which even the appreciation of nature was structured by labor and class.