The Old Print Shop

Neottia Elata. Neottie Elancee. (Tall Neottia). Pl. 164.

  • 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 7/16 x 13 1/2" (51.9 x 34.2 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 features the Dubious Daffodil (Narcissus Dubius) captured with a level of realism previously unseen in botanical engravings. 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 translucent white petals and subtle textures of the flora. 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, creating a seamless, naturalistic blend between the lush greens of the stem and the delicate whites of the flower. 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.

  • ADDITIONAL INFO:

  • CONDITION: Good condition. Plate number has been trimmed.

  • REFERENCE: