The Kingdom of Flora
Medium
Aquatint in brown and black, with burnishing, stipple etching, etching, bordered in dark brown ink on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/sheet: 24.4 × 43.2 cm (9 5/8 × 17 1/16 in.)
Classification
drawings (visual works)
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
4279
Art Historical Context
"The Kingdom of Flora" showcases Johann Gottlieb Prestel’s mastery of intricate printmaking. Created on ivory laid paper with a sophisticated combination of aquatint in brown and black, burnishing, stipple etching, and etching, the work is bordered in dark brown ink. Measuring just under ten by seventeen inches, this delicate print from the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings collection invites close looking, revealing layers of tone and texture that mimic the softness of petals and the richness of foliage. Prestel’s technique demonstrates how aquatint and stipple etching allowed a...