HOOLA VAN NOOTEN, BERTHE

Fleurs, fruits et feuillages choisis de la flore et de la pomone de l’ile de Java peints d’apres nature. Brussels: Faubourg de Louvain; Amsterdam: J. Noordendorp (overslip to title), [c.1866, dated underneath overslip, see footnote]

Second edition, folio (550 x 382mm.), dedication leaf, 40 chromolithographed plates by G. Severeyns after the author, text in English and French, original dark brown cloth gilt, occasional spotting, marginal tear to one text leaf, extremities slightly worn

The attractive plates are fine and early examples of chromolithography by Severeyns, one of its most accomplished exponents. The author had followed her husband from Belgium to Indonesia, and found herself virtually stranded in Java after his unexpected death. With a young family to support, Van Nooten exploited the vogue for exotic flora and used her talent for flower painting to produce these magnificent illustrations. Stafleu and Cowan is uncertain about the dating of the second e💞dition ("?1880") and Nissen dates it to 1880.

"Van Nooten was clearly a more than competent artist, for the splendid tropical plants, with their lush foliage, vividly coloured flowers and exotic fruit, have been depicted with great skill. She managed to accentuate the splendour of each species by adopting a style that combined great precision and clarity with a touch of neo-Baroque exuberance, revelling in the rich forms and colours of the tropics" (An Oak Spring Flora).

LITERATURE:

Nissen BBI 931; An Oak Spring Flora, 87; Stafleu & Cowan 3025