The Green Florilegium

This elegant book features exquisite reproductions of a rare 17th-century album of floral illustrations.

Very little is known about The Green Florilegium. Neither signed nor dated, it is generally attributed to the German painter Hans Simon Holtzbecker and originates from the library at Gottorf Castle in Schleswig, on the border of Germany and Denmark. The album now resides at the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. Recently the book was painstakingly restored, allowing the delicate illustrations to come to new life in their original colors. This beautiful and affordable volume reproduces the original work of 400 botanical illustrations in its entirety. It also includes an introductory essay and captions with basic information on each flower. This lovely book is a must-have for lovers of botanical illustration and a sublime example of the art of conservation."It’s the perfect coffee-table book – leaving it open to any page is like having a permanent bouquet of flowers in your space." —Martha Stewart – Home Design
"Eternally fresh…so beautiful it deserves its own gazebo." —The Wall Street Journal
"The illustrations here are finely wrought and wonderfully colored… Each page is meant to be lingered over in this splendid and sprawling lap garden." —The New York Times
"If you only own one book of botanical illustration, this should be it. An exquisite exploration of the natural world…each of the 400 illustrations is a joy to behold." —Art of the TimesHANNE KOLIND POULSEN is Senior Researcher and Curator at the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.