HOOLA VAN NOOTEN, After Berthe (1840 -1885)

Strophanthus Dichotomus [Kombe]

Brussels: C. Muquardt, [circa 1863-1885]. Chromolithograph, by P.Depannemaeker. Very good condition apart from some overall light soiling. 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 Africa and Asia, Strophanthus Dichotomus, like the Oleander, belongs to the Apocyneae order. Although its large, colourful blossoms can be harmful, they are prized for their attractiveness. "The exquisite beauty of these flowers, whose long petals fall back in silky, curling, fringes, is inimitably graceful and causes this flower to be quite a favourite with the ladies in East-India, who love to wear it and who use it, with much taste, for their head-dresses, intermingled with geranium leaves; - a use to which these flowers are admirably adapted as they so charmingly imitate the appearance of riband. For this reason also, have the natives given it the name of Kembang pita or riband-flower." (Hoola Van Nooten) Hoola Van Nooten had accompanied her husband to Jakarta (Batavia), capital of Java, where he 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 #12561

Price: $625.00