Dietzsch

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the considerable progress made in optics and the discovery of many new animal and plant species revived interest in the living world. The medieval tradition of florilegia, which gathered images of plants that were sometimes more artistic than realistic, came back into fashion. But, in keeping with the rational spirit developing and culminating in the eighteenth century, precise description and systematic classification now competed with the more aesthetic vision. Thanks to naturalist travelers, collections expanded along with publications describing animals, minerals, and plants. The city of Nuremberg held such a special place in this regard that in 1841, in his History of the Natural Sciences, Georges Cuvier did not fail to write about this city—often celebrated for its engravers—that “figures of natural history have constantly been produced there.” The naturalist confessed to holding in high esteem the works published there in the eighteenth century, notably those of Georg Wolfgang Knorr.

A true school of painting specialized in the natural sciences then emerged in Nuremberg, intended to provide illustrations for these works. The painter August Joseph Rösel von Rosenhof and several members of the Dietzsch family—Barbara Regina, her sister Margaretha Barbara, and her brother Johann Christoph—are its best examples. Among them, Barbara Regina stands out not only for her independent personality—she refused the title of court painter and never married—but above all for the exceptional quality of her works. Originally intended for collectors, her gouaches must be regarded as distinct from purely illustrative production. However, they were occasionally used by publishers, as in the case of her bird paintings reproduced in Adam Ludwig Wirsing’s Sammlung leistens deutscher Vögel (Nuremberg, 1772–1777, 2 vols., 50 illustrations), or certain of her flower paintings published in Jacob Trew’s Hortus Nitidissimus (Nuremberg, 1750–1786). Likewise, Georg Wolfgang Knorr used six of her floral works to illustrate his Auserlesenes Blumen-Zeichenbuch für Frauenzimmer (Nuremberg, 1740–1750), a flower-drawing manual intended for ladies.

The flower paintings by members of the Dietzsch family are almost all produced according to the same model. Of standard sizes—29 × 21 or 35 × 27 cm—executed in gouache on vellum, they depict plants accompanied by insects against a black background, framed by a thin line of gold. They were intended to be sold to collectors with an interest in botany, in pairs or groups. Some enjoyed accumulating them, framing them edge to edge to produce the effect of an indoor garden. The most passionate collectors probably displayed them in their cabinets alongside minerals, animals, and insects from their collections. Others preferred to gather them into books, thereby creating their own florilegia, which had the advantage of aiding their preservation.

These gouaches, particularly sought after and esteemed in their time, succeed in highlighting the beauty of their subjects without sacrificing scientific precision. Plants and insects are painted with great accuracy and are paired precisely with those that, in nature, maintain a mutualistic relationship. The black background focuses the viewer’s gaze and facilitates the study of the plant. But, emphasizing the velvety texture of the leaves, the silkiness of the petals, and the brilliance of the colors, it also seems to cradle and protect the flower, like a black velvet case protects a jewel. Glorifying the beauty of creation, these works have been linked by Heindrun Ludwig to physico-theology, then widespread among Protestants in Germany. This way of thinking, very present in the philosophical discussions of the period, likens the world to a work of art whose perfection and harmony constitute evidence for the existence of a divine creator. Through their technical perfection, the works of the Dietzsch family may thus be seen as celebrating the perfection of creation and the divine design.