J. C. Volkamer. The Book of Citrus Fruits - TASCHEN
Citrons, lemons, and bitter oranges float like heavenly bodies above Italian villas, Nuremberg gardens, and picturesque countryside in J. C. Volkamer’s ode to the citrus fruit. Reproducing a hand-colored set of copper plates, this publication shows 170 varieties of citrus fruits, reviving a time when citrus fruits were exotic.
Clothbound, 27.6 x 39.5 cm, 4.33 kg, 384 pages
Celestial Citrus
J. C. Volkamer’s 18th-century ode to the citrus fruit
Have
you ever thought of citrus fruits as celestial bodies, angelically
suspended in the sky? Perhaps not, but J. C. Volkamer (1644–1720)
did—commissioning an extravagant and breathtaking series of large-sized copperplates representing citrons, lemons, and bitter oranges in surreal scenes of majesty and wonder.
Ordering plants by post mostly from Italy, Germany, North Africa, and
even the Cape of Good Hope, the Nuremberg merchant Volkamer was a devotee of the fragrant and exotic citrus at a time when such fruits were still largely unknown north of the Alps.
His garden came to contain a wide variety of specimens, and he became
so obsessed with the fruits that he commissioned a team of copperplate
engravers to create 256 plates of 170 varieties of citrus fruits, many depicted life size, published in a two-volume work. The first volume appeared in 1708, with the impressively lengthy title The
Nuremberg Hesperides, or: A detailed description of the noble fruits of
the citron, lemon and bitter orange; how these may be correctly
planted, cared for and propagated in that and neighboring regions.
In both volumes, Volkamer draws on years of hands-on experience to present a far-reaching account of citrus fruits and how to tend them—from a meticulous walk-through of how to construct temporary orangeries, glasshouses, and hothouses for growing pineapples to commentary on each fruit variety, including its size, shape, color, scent, tree or shrub, leaves, and country of origin.
In each plate, Volkamer pays tribute to the verdant landscapes of
Northern Italy, his native Nuremberg, and other sites that captured his
imagination. From Genovese sea views to the Schönbrunn Palace, each locale is depicted in the same exceptional detail as the fruit that overhangs it.
We witness branches heavy with grapefruits arching across a sun-bathed
yard in Bologna and marvel at a huge pineapple plant sprouting from a
South American town. The result is at once a fantastical line-up of
botanical beauty and a highly poetic tour through the lush gardens and places where these fruits grew.
Few colored sets of Volkamer’s work are still in existence today. This publication draws on the two recently discovered hand-colored volumes in the city of Fürth’s municipal archive in Schloss Burgfarrnbach. The reprint also includes 56 newly discovered illustrations that Volkamer intended to present in a third volume.
The author
Iris Lauterbach is a member of the research department of the Central Institute for Art History in Munich and teaches the history of garden architecture at the Technical University in Munich. Her areas of research include France during the 18th century and the history of European garden art from the 16th to the 20th century. She has also carried out extensive research about the restitution of artworks that were looted during the Second World War.
J. C. Volkamer. The Book of Citrus Fruits
Clothbound, 27.6 x 39.5 cm, 4.33 kg, 384 pages
ISBN 978-3-8365-3525-0
Edition: Multilingual (English, French, German)