Unheralded wildflowers and weeds are given a voice in our Vox Botanica series, featuring the work of celebrated Art Nouveau illustrator Anton Seder.

Seder (1850–1916) was a designer, art professor and eventual Director of the noted Kunstgewerbeschule (Arts and Crafts School) in Strasbourg, Alsace-Lorraine. With the region at that time hotly contested by both France and Germany, the art scene that arose offered a unique marriage of cultures. Influences from both countries, along with Victorian, Baroque and even Japanese woodblock elements, can thus be seen in Seder’s work.

This particular piece, originally a chromolithograph on paper, comes from one of his best-known works, Die Pflanze in Kunst und Gewerbe, or The Plant in Art and Trade. Published in Vienna in 1890, it offers two volumes of stunning prints gracefully depicting elements of nature. Seder’s harmonious use of space, a plethora of details and candid depiction of natural elements drew us to this piece. With this series, we herald Seder’s unique voice and vision for his plants in a new era of art and trade.