Johann Wilhelm Weinmann Mirabilis Botanical Mezzotint From Phytanthoza Iconographia (1683-1741), Circa 1740

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Johann Weinmann (1683-1741) was a Regensburg apothecary who organized the publication of Phytanthoza Iconographia, a huge florilegum which was not … Read more Johann Weinmann (1683-1741) was a Regensburg apothecary who organized the publication of Phytanthoza Iconographia, a huge florilegum which was not only very beautiful but which also influenced the publication of similar works worldwide. “The mezzotint process used here had been invented by Johann Teyler in the Netherlands around 1688. As practiced here by Bartholomaus Seuter (1678-1754) and Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767), it was really a combination of etching and mezzotint, which made possible delicate lines and a very fine grain. The addition of hand-tinting brought about unusual and subtle effects” (Hunt).

This was the first botanical series to use color-printed mezzotint successfully. Although he was never acknowledged, nearly half the drawings of this series are by Georg Dionysius Ehret and represent his first published botanical illustrations. Engraved by Bartholomäus Seuter, Johann Ridinger and Johann J. Haid. A most complete, interesting and valuable record of the plants cultivated early in the 18th century. See less