Frontispiece, Recueil de plantes: Detail

The engraved frontispiece from Nicolas Robert’s Recueil de plantes gravees par ordre du Roi Louis VXI depicts a meeting of the Academy in the Royal Library at Versailles, with Louis XIV present.

This image is a detail of the flower arrangement at the left of the composition. The placement of the arrangement is intriguing, as it clearly alludes to the Jardin des Plantes that can be seen beyond the open windows.