Emanuel Sweert

Botanical illustration suddenly found a new outlet in the production of nursery catalogues. Sweerts prepared his Florilegium as a guide of his available stock for the Frankfurt Fair of 1612. The plates, depicting some 560 bulbs and flowers, were from the Johann Theodore de Bry Florilegium which in turn was based on that by Pierre Vallet. His attractively depicted bulbs sparked their popularity, leading to 6 editions of the work between 1612 and 1647, and a demand which would later result in "Tulipomania". At the time of the fair Sweerts was in the employ of Emperor Rudolf II as head of his gardens in Vienna. He borrowed freely from plates that had been published before, so that many of those that appeared in the Florilegium had been cultivated in the gardens of King Henry IV of France at the Louvre. He died in Amsterdam.

• Name — Emanuel Sweerts • Born — 1552 • Birthplace — Zevenbergen, Netherlands • Died — 1612 • Place of death — Amsterdam, Netherlands • Occupation — Painter, Nurseryman • Employer — Emperor Rudolf II • Known for — Publication of Florilegium Amplissimum et Selectissimum • Notable Works — Florilegium Amplissimum et Selectissimum • Illustration — Plate 66 from Florilegium

Emanuel Sweert is recorded with the occupation botanical illustrator. Recorded as horticulturist, botanical illustrator, painter, gardener and botanist.