Abies, Pl. 785 — Encyclopédie Méthodique

A handsome study of fir species drawn by Henri Joseph Redouté, capturing the distinctive needles, cones, and branching habit of the genus Abies.

After Henri Joseph Redouté; engraved by Robert Bénard. Botanique, Plate 785, from the Encyclopédie Méthodique. Published in Paris, c. 1793.

The Encyclopédie Méthodique expanded upon Diderot and d'Alembert's original Encyclopédie, reorganising knowledge into subject-specific dictionaries with thousands of newly commissioned plates. Henri Joseph Redouté contributed numerous botanical drawings to the project, bringing the same observational acuity that distinguished the wider Redouté family of natural-history artists.

Copperplate engraving on laid paper, approximately 29.7 × 21.6 cm. Excellent.