Brassicas Weinmann
The Brassicas in this image (neapolitana and tuberosa) were printed in the late 1730s. They’re taken from a Dutch edition of Phytanthoza Iconographia by Weinmann, an apothecary whose interest in botany led him to create his own botanical garden in Regensberg in Bavaria.
Phytanthoza Iconographia featured over a thousand illustrations, representing several thousand different plants. They are early examples of colour mezzotint, a printing method producing painterly details. Weinmann struggled to retain artists, with a number of different artists contributing. Some were unfamiliar with botany, and as a result the work has been valued more for its aesthetic value than its scientific accuracy.
