A Garden Eden. Masterpieces of Botanical Illustration

Art meets science in this far-reaching catalogue of botanical illustration. Drawn from the vaults of the National Library of Vienna, these exquisite color reproductions range from 6th-century manuscripts to 19th-century masterpiecesand celebrate both the skill of botanical artists and the abundance of natural flora.

Botanical masterworks from the National Library of Vienna In pursuit of both knowledge and delight, the craft of botanical illustration has always required not only meticulous draftsmanship but also a rigorous scientific understanding. This new edition of a TASCHEN classic celebrates the botanical tradition and talents with a selection of outstanding works from the National Library of Vienna, including many new images.

From Byzantine manuscripts right through to 19th-century masterpieces, through peonies, callas, and chrysanthemums, these exquisite reproductions dazzle in their accuracy and their aesthetics. Whether in gently furled leaves, precisely textured fruits, or the sheer beauty and variety of colors, we celebrate an art form as tender as it is precise, and ever more resonant amid our growing awareness of our ecological surroundings and the preciousness of natural flora.

The author

H. Walter Lack is a professor at the Free University of Berlin and former director of the Botanical Gardens and Botanical Museum in Berlin-Dahlem. A leading expert in the history of botany, his research focuses on the global transfer of useful and ornamental plants from a cultural historical perspective. He is the author of TASCHEN’s Garden of Eden, The Book of Palms and Redouté. The Book of Flowers.

A Garden Eden. Masterpieces of Botanical Illustration H. Walter Lack Hardcover, 25 x 34.5 cm, 4.19 kg, 576 pages ISBN 978-3-8365-7739-7