Senecio Candicans de Candolle "Cacalia Lanuginosa"

Series Title

Banks' Florilegium

Artist

after : Sydney Parkinson (British English, 1745 – 1771)
engraver : J. Golder (British)
printer : Alecto Historical Editions (British, established 1979)
publisher : British Museum (British, founded 1753)

Date

Engraved 1768-1771; printed 1988

Medium

Hand-colored engraving

Dimensions

Plate : 18 x 11 1/2 in. (45.72 x 29.21 cm)
Sheet : 28 x 22 in. (71.12 x 55.88 cm)
Mat : 30 x 24 in. (76.2 x 60.96 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of David Kamansky and Gerald Wheaton

Object Number

2014.23.41

Label

The original image for Senecio candicans was created between 1768 and 1771 during an expedition to document plants from the Tierra del Fuego region at the southernmost tip of South America. Financed by Sir Joseph Banks, an English botanist and naturalist, this trip was the first voyage taken by the British Royal Navy in pursuit of scientific discovery. Parkinson was hired to accompany the explorers and made over 1,300 paintings and drawings before dying at sea. Many of Parkinson’s works, including this one, make up the monumental publication Banks' Florilegium. Because Banks never managed to publish this work during his lifetime, the first color printing did not take place until the 1980s when the project was taken up by Alecto Historical Editions in association with the British Museum of Natural History. Using Parkinson's notes about his botanical subjects, each colored print was created using a technique called à la poupée that involved applying color directly to the plate. Finishing marks after printing were made with watercolor. Since its completion, Banks’Florilegium has earned a reputation as one of the most impressive 20th century fine art projects in the discipline of printmaking. [Emily Lindbloom 2020]