Studies of Screwpines from Madagascar
1887
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1887
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
You see thin pen lines tracing the spiky leaves and knobby fruit of two screwpine plants against a gray background. Seliger drew these while studying botany in Madagascar. The plants were new to European science then, so his sketches helped scientists back home. Notice how the white chalk highlights make the leaves look almost wet—like they’re still fresh from the jungle. He worked fast, probably outdoors, to catch the light before it changed. If you like how ink can feel alive, look up cross-hatching next.
![Tropical Plant [recto]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/1aa56502d3b9ab34/thumb.webp)
![Tree [verso]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/696f4264834bd30c/thumb.webp)
![Study of a Flower [verso]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/8828feade416c757/thumb.webp)
