Study of a Tulip ('t roosje)
1645
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1645
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a single tulip, petals striped red and white, drawn on a plain page with its Dutch name written below. This tulip was worth more than a house in 1645. The stripes came from a virus that made the flower rare—and expensive. Growers hired artists like Holsteyn to paint the bulbs they wanted to sell, almost like a catalog. If you like this, look up other tulip books from the subject: netherlands.
