STrUCTioN - Taschen

April 2013
Uncommon fruits
A horticultural extravaganza that stuns with playful surrealism à la Magritte
Opposite: Villa Cortusi in Malcesine
with citrus fruit.
Limited Edition of 995 numbered copies bound in ultra-smooth full calf leather
and featuring woodfree felt-marked paper from the Gmund paper mill.
Have you ever thought of citrus fruits as celestial bodies, angelically and heroically
suspended in the sky above? Perhaps not, but J. C. Volkamer did—commissioning an
extravagant and breathtaking series of large-sized copperplates representing citrons,
lemons, and bitter oranges; in these surreal scenes, the fruits appear in the sky, majestic
and life-size, floating like planets above vedute of villas, gardens, or landscapes far
below. Before they were imported from Italy in the 16th century, citrus trees were
largely unknown north of the Alps; over the next two centuries the exotic and fragrant
specimens gained much popularity in gardens throughout the region. One amateur
horticulturist in particular, the Nuremberg merchant J. C. Volkamer, positively
devoted himself to the citrus. Ordering plants mostly from Italy and Northern Africa,
he became so obsessed that he commissioned a team of artists and engravers to create
251 plates of 174 different citrus species to illustrate his two-volume treatise on the
citrus. The first volume appeared in 1708, impressively titled The Nuremberg
Hesperides, or Thorough Description of the Noble Citron, Lemon and Bitter Orange
Fruits: How They may be Properly Planted, Cultivated, Tended and Raised in This and
Neighbouring Regions.
This TASCHEN reprint is based on the two hand-colored volumes belonging to the
Stadtarchiv and Stadtmuseum, Schloss Burgfarrnbach in Fürth—one of the very few
colored sets known to exist. The publication includes also 56 additional illustrations —
discovered only recently—which the author intended to publish in a third volume. As a
printed work of enormous botanical, cultural, and historical significance, Volkamer’s
Hesperides provides intriguing insights into the rich horticultural praxis of his time.
It is also a curious precursor to surrealist artworks created centuries later by the likes
of Salvador Dalí or Réné Magritte. Lovers of art, horticulture, and curiosities will all
agree that this collection of plates is both unprecedented and thoroughly delightful.
Volkamer
Cover
under
construction
Johann Christoph Volkamer.
Citrus fruits
Hardcover with booklet in slipcase
10.1 x 16.5 in., 600 pp.
978-3-8365-3525-0
$ 1,000 / CAD 1,200
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XL
Format
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