Berlese Pl. 41, Camellia Monstruosa | By Oppenheimer Editions

Berlese Pl. 41, Camellia Monstruosa exemplifies the artist’s intimate understanding of the genus Camellia.

This meticulously proofed facsimile print captures the harmony and elegance of Berlèse’s original engravings. Printed with high-quality, archival pigments on rag watercolor paper and embossed with the Oppenheimer Editions logo, this fine art print will enhance any space through the lively addition of color.

About Iconographie du Genre Camellia

Produced from 1839—1843 by Abbé Lorenzo Berlèse, Iconographie du Genre Camellia is a monograph on the camellia genus containing 300 hand-colored stipple engravings of the flowers. Produced in response to the introduction of an increased number of camellia hybrids and species to Europe, Berlèse’s Iconographie proved significant in identifying and differentiating the camellia varietals. The wealthy Italian Abbot Berlèse spent his adult years in France where he studied, cultivated, and wrote about camellias. Beautiful in groupings of four, six, or eight images, the camellias vary in color from ruby red to pink, white, and variegated.

The Oppenheimer Editions publication of Abbé Berlese’s Iconographie du Genre Camellia offers modern fine art prints of Berlese’s artwork in a limited edition of 200. Produced in fidelity to the original artwork, the Oppenheimer Editions prints convey the subtle detail and soft coloring of the original 19th-century prints.

About Abbé Laurent Berlèse

Abbé Laurent Berlèse was the greatest 19th-century scholar on the subject of camellias, which reached peak popularity in the mid-19th century as new variants were cultivated. Born in northern Italy, Berlèse pursued his vocation as a chaplain and moved to Paris where he cultivated camellias. Berlèse recognized the need to document and record the camellia varietals as his gardens grew with new and hybrid camellias. In response to this need for a camellia index, Berlèse published Iconographie du genre Camellia (1839) containing 300 hand-colored stipple engravings of the flower varietals.

About Oppenheimer Editions

Established in 1999, our publishing company Oppenheimer Editions was developed in order to produce modern facsimiles of historic works of art. Marrying cutting-edge digital printing technologies with canonical works of art, Oppenheimer Editions has partnered with prestigious museums to make their holdings accessible to the public as fine art prints. Works from the New-York Historical Society’s unrivaled collections of John James Audubon’s watercolors and the Hudson River School paintings are examples of art that otherwise would be unobtainable.

Among the institutional collections we have partnered with are the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Our Oppenheimer Editions prints are not mere reproductions. Rather, they are limited-edition fine art prints made with the finest quality archival pigments on rag watercolor paper and executed to exacting standards.

For more information about Berlese Pl. 41, Camellia Monstruosa, email us at [email protected] or check out our article The Historical Significance of Botanical Illustration.

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