Study of a Tulip ('t roosje)

c. 1645

This object has related works. See

Pieter Holsteyn II

(Dutch, c.1612–1673)

Culture

Netherlands

Medium

Point of brush and transparent and opaque watercolors with traces of graphite and gum glazing on antique laid paper

Measurements

Sheet: 31.2 x 21 cm (12 5/16 x 8 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.132

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

In 17th-century Holland, some tulip bulbs were as expensive as a stately Amsterdam canal house.

Description

This image of a tulip was made as part of a tulip book used as a grower’s marketing tool during the so-called tulip mania, a speculative bubble in 17th-century Holland, when ten tulip bulbs could cost more than a stately Amsterdam canal house. The striations on the tulip, which were caused by a virus in the bulb, made it especially valuable. Pieter Holsteyn II was one of many artists in the Netherlands at the time who specialized in botanical illustration. This tulip's Dutch name, inscribed on the sheet, means "trumpet."