Campanula rotundifolia (liden klokke); Silene viscaria (almindelig tjærenellike); Viola tricolor (almindelig stedmoderblomst) 1635 - 1664

Curator: Here we have "Campanula rotundifolia; Silene viscaria; Viola tricolor" by Hans Simon Holtzbecker, created sometime between 1635 and 1664. The work you see is rendered with watercolor and gouache, currently residing at the Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: Ah, my first thought? Elegiac. Like pressing flowers in a book to remember someone who's gone. There's such delicate detail...a quiet sadness, isn't it? Curator: Well, it's worth considering the context. Botanical illustration in this period wasn't merely decorative. It played a role in scientific documentation. Note how Holtzbecker captures not just the aesthetic beauty, but also details crucial for identification. Consider the labor involved, and the purpose: facilitating knowledge transfer within scientific circles, alongside its aesthetic purpose, surely also served specific commercial interests like those related to medicine and agriculture. Editor: Yes, absolutely. And the medium – the subtle bleeding of the watercolour...it gives a sense of ephemeral beauty, doesn’t it? Transience echoed in the plants themselves. And there is a sort of...naive honesty, perhaps? Compared to later more exuberant flower paintings. You almost expect it to wilt before your eyes! Curator: Perhaps we see here how a seemingly simple study engages complex dynamics of early scientific exploration and its relationship to economic pursuits. Editor: Which gives it...more layers. All captured in delicate strokes of watercolour. Thank you, Hans Simon Holtzbecker, for making us look, and think. Curator: A pertinent consideration for appreciating the piece. Thank you.