Cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata)
published 1754
Medium
etching and engraving with hand coloring on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 35.1 x 26 cm (13 13/16 x 10 1/4 in.) sheet: 45.1 x 31.8 cm (17 3/4 x 12 1/2 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green
Accession Number
1991.163.44
Art Historical Context
Mark Catesby's *Cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata)* published in 1754, is a example of 18th-century natural history illustration from his seminal work, *The Natural History Carolina, Florida, and Bahama Islands*. As an English naturalist and artist, Catesby traveled in the American Southeast from 1712 to 1719, meticulously documenting native flora like this vigorous climbing vine, known for its trumpet-shaped flowers and twisting tendrils that "cross" like a vine-wrapped lattice. His prints bridged art and science, offering Europeans their first vivid glimpses of New World biodiversity during th...
About the Artist
Mark Catesby
Mark Catesby (1683–1749), an pioneering English naturalist and artist, was born on 24 March 1683 in Castle Hedingham, Essex, and baptized there a week later. His early life remains sparsely documented, with no records of formal education, artistic training, teachers, or mentors, though he was likely influenced by his uncle Nicholas Jekyll, a local naturalist with an intriguing garden and connectio...