Cytisus, Pl. 618 — Encyclopédie Méthodique

A meticulously detailed hand-coloured engraving of Cytisus, the broom genus, its botanical features rendered with scientific precision and artistic grace.

After J. E. de Sève; engraved by Robert Bénard. Encyclopédie Méthodique, Botanique, Plate 618. Published in Paris, 1793.

The Encyclopédie Méthodique was a vast expansion of Diderot and d'Alembert's original Encyclopédie, featuring new, high-quality illustrations that contributed significantly to the scientific understanding of the natural world. Cytisus, a genus of leguminous shrubs widespread across Europe, was well known to eighteenth-century botanists and valued for both its ornamental qualities and its role in land management.

Hand-coloured copperplate engraving. Sheet size approximately 29.7 × 21.6 cm. Very Good.