Study of a Tulip (Wit en root boode)
1645
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1645
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a single tulip—white petals streaked with red—floating against a plain background. The petals look almost alive, with tiny veins and soft shadows. This tulip wasn’t just pretty; it was rare. The red streaks came from a virus, making it a hot commodity during "tulip mania," when people paid crazy prices for bulbs. Artists like Holsteyn painted these flowers for catalogs, like a 17th-century ad. If you like this, check out other works from the Netherlands—they’re full of flowers, science, and wild history.
