Commelina persicariaefolia. Commeline a feuilles de persicaire. (Persicaria-leaved Dayflower). Pl. 472.

• Price: $625.00
  

  SKU: 88412

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• ARTIST: Pierre-Joseph Redoute

• PUBLISHER: Published by the author ("Chez l'auteur") and printed by the renowned Imprimerie de Didot jeune in Paris between 1802 and 1816.

• MEDIUM: Stipple engraving printed in color and finished by hand,

  DATE: 1802-16.

• EDITION SIZE: Paper size 20 3/8 x 13 9/16" (51.7 x 34.4 cm).

• DESCRIPTION: This wonderful botanical plate originates from Pierre-Joseph Redoute’s masterpiece, Les Liliacees, published in Paris between 1802 and 1816. Widely considered one of the finest achievements in botanical illustration, the work certainly reigns amongst botanical engravings, featuring the Persicaria-leaved Dayflower (Commelina persicariaefolia) captured with a level of realism previously unseen in the medium. The brilliance of the plate lies in Redoute’s mastery of stipple engraving, a specialized technique he refined to move beyond the limitations of traditional line engraving. By utilizing thousands of tiny dots of varying sizes and densities rather than solid lines, Redoute was able to create the soft, ethereal gradients and delicate tonal shifts necessary to depict the unique, spade-shaped leaves and the distinctive structure of this dayflower. The technical execution of these plates, engraved by Chapuy, involved a sophisticated process of color printing known as "a la poupee," where various inks were applied directly to a single copper plate using a small rag wad (a poupee). This allowed for multiple colors to be printed in a single pass, ensuring a seamless, naturalistic blend between the lush, elongated foliage and the subtle textures of the plant's stems. To achieve ultimate scientific precision, each plate was meticulously finished by hand with watercolor, adding fine botanical details that the printing process alone could not capture. Published in Paris between 1802 and 1816 in a limited edition of 200, this work remains a pinnacle of early 19th-century printmaking.

• ADDITIONAL INFO:

• CONDITION: Good condition, save for minor foxing.

• REFERENCE:

• CATEGORIES: 18th-19th Century Subjects , Natural History - Botanicals , Redoute - Liliacees