Artwork
Hieracium Cymosum
Hieracium Cymosum is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Johann Hieronymus Kniphof. It dates from 1760 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1760, this botanical illustration by Johann Hieronymus Kniphof records the species Hieracium cymosum. Rendered as a pressed‑plant print, the image presents the plant in a straightforward, scientific manner, with the name inscribed in hand‑written script.
Subject & Meaning
The work focuses on a single specimen of Hieracium cymosum, showing its erect stem crowned by a compact cluster of buds and a basal rosette of slender leaves. By isolating the plant against an unadorned background, the image emphasizes morphological details essential for identification.
Technique & Style
Kniphof employed a traditional method of pressing the fresh plant, drying it, and then tracing its outline with ink between two sheets of paper. The resulting print features clean, precise lines and minimal shading, reflecting the eighteenth‑century emphasis on accuracy over decorative embellishment in botanical documentation.
History & Provenance
The illustration originates from Kniphof’s mid‑eighteenth‑century botanical studies, a period when printed plant specimens were circulated among scholars and physicians. It survives as part of a larger corpus of his work, which contributed to the development of systematic plant taxonomy prior to the advent of photographic techniques.
Artist & collection
Umbelliferae (Buphorum rotundifolium, Lo.)
Diasia iridifolia
Sonchus arvensis
Plantae Selectae: No. 52 - Ixia
Polianthes tuberosa (tuberose); Amaryllis belladonna (belladonnalilje)
Allium moly (guld-løg); Allium nigrum (sort løg)
Brassica napus (raps); Iberis amara (bitter sløjfeblomst)
Gladiolus ringens
Narcissus calathinus