Flora Unveiled

The Rebirth of Naturalism j 315

315 315

of the species were not even listed in Dioscorides. Herbarum Vivae Icons was notable both

for its text and its illustrations. The plant portraits were exquisitely rendered in woodcuts

by Hans Weiditz, a prominent book illustrator who had studied with one of Dürer’s close

contemporaries. It is obvious from the detail and naturalism of these woodcuts that they

were made from living models (Figure 11.7A). Weiditz faithfully drew the plants Brunfels

set before him without idealizing them. Several of the portraits include broken stems or

insect- damaged leaves.

(b)

Figure 11.7 Continued