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Item #12554 Anona Reticulata [Custard Apple]. After Berthe HOOLA VAN NOOTEN, 1840 -1885.

HOOLA VAN NOOTEN, After Berthe (1840 -1885)

Anona Reticulata [Custard Apple]

Brussels: C. Muquardt, [circa 1863-1885]. Chromolithograph, by P.Depannemaeker. Very good condition apart from a few light foxing marks. Sheet size: 21 3/4 x 15 5/8 inches.

A fine example of the spectacular botanical work by Berthe Hoola Van Nooten, from 'Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages Choisis de l'Ile de Java'.

Native to tropical climates, particularly the Antilles, the Custard Apple is a small tree that yields sweet fruit with an irregular surface. "This tree, if well cultivated, gives a beautiful shade and is therefore greatly esteemed by the Chinese, who like to plant it in front of their houses." (Hoola Van Nooten) Still in her early twenties, Berthe Hoola Van Nooten had accompanied her husband to Jakarta (Batavia), capital of Java, where he soon died. She was left with debts to pay and a family to support. With great ingenuity, she managed to get a selection of her paintings chromolithographed and published under the title Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages Choisis de l'Ile de Java Peints D'Après Nature, the first edition of which appeared in 1863-4. "Van Nooten was clearly more than competent, for the splendid tropical plants… have been depicted with great skill. She managed to accentuate the splendour of each species by adopting a style that combined great precision and clarity with a touch of neo-Baroque exuberance, revelling in the rich forms and colours of the tropics." (L. Tongiorgi Tomasi An Oak Spring Flora p.330)

Cf. Nissen BBI 931; cf. Stafleu & Cowan TL2 3025; cf. L. Tongiorgi Tomasi An Oak Spring Flora 87.

Item #12554

Price: $800.00

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