"Tulip with Butterfly and Maybeetle," Barbara Regina Dietzsch, before 1783.

Dietzsch (1709-83) was a Bavarian painter known today for her botanical paintings.

Not much is known of her life, except her dates, the names of her parents and siblings, and that she was born in Nuremberg, married and lived in Hanover, but eventually returned to Nuremberg and died there. Her husband was also a painter, Nikolaus Christopher Matthes. It is known that some other members of her family were painters as well.

What we do have is her work, including stunningly detailed paintings of flowers, plants, birds, and seashells. They were sought by collectors in Germany, England, France, and the Netherlands, and while it's not known if she was deliberately commissioned to do so, we do know that a number of her works were used in scientific textbooks and albums used to identify plants. Her work, and those of other family members, is marked by extreme attention to detail.

Sadly, not all her works are signed or dated, and the similarity between her style and her other family members makes it difficult to attribute them definitely.

Happy Flower Friday!

From the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany.

#Art #BarbaraReginaDietzsch #FlowerFriday #BotanicalIllustration #WomenArtists