The aim of the exhibition is to give an overview of the various aspects of botanical illustration (history, evolution, techniques...) through the presentation of some of the most beautiful illustrated books kept at the Library of the Botanical Garden of the University of Padova. The library has a collection holding thousands of ancient and modern volumes, mostly dedicated to botany, plants and gardens, which is obviously not feasible to present in its entirety in this exhibition.

The choice was made, therefore, to select the illustrated books that seem the most significant in view of the exhibition’s purpose: books made in different centuries (fifteenth to nineteenth centuries), using various printing techniques and created for different purposes.

In addition to the illustrated books, it was also decided to add a small selection of herbaria of dried plants, since it has been another method used over the centuries to achieve the same goal, which is to portray plants and flowers.

The selected books are presented along multiple storylines: a look at pages related to the different approaches to botanical representation (copies from other books, real life depictions, scientific and educational drawings, portrayals with strong aesthetic value, with in-depth texts about the most significant books); within a timeline that follows the evolution of drawing and printing techniques; in a chronological narrative that traces a little history of botanical books including illustrations; and in a map that highlights the different places where these volumes have been produced. There are also pages specifically dedicated to herbaria of dried plants, a brief explanation of the various printing techniques used and about the Library of the Botanical Garden.

   »  Brief History of illustrated herbals