Polygonatum | Vintage Botanical Print

Vintage Botanical Print | 16th-Century Herbal Illustration | Antique Plant Art | Printable Natural History Wall Decor | Digital Download

Discover the elegance of ancient botany with Polygonatum, a striking watercolor botanical illustration from the 16th century, created by Italian artist and botanist Gherardo Cibo. Featured in Mattioli’s expanded edition of Dioscorides’s De Materia Medica, this artwork highlights the Solomon’s seal plant with its arched stem and large leaves, framed by a mountainous village backdrop.

Perfect for fans of vintage herbal art, natural history decor, medicinal plant illustrations, and printable botanical wall art.

➤ Instant digital download
➤ High-resolution file, ready to print
➤ Ideal for cottagecore homes, academic spaces, botanical lovers, or herbalist studios

Pixartiko Collective – Usage License

Prints allowed for personal use and resale only as physical products in local shops. Use in other physical goods permitted if pixartiko.com is credited when possible.
Digital resale, sharing, or publishing is strictly forbidden.
Designs are not public domain and cannot be distributed online.

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Print Sizes

🖼 Included Print Sizes (No Cropping Needed)

This high resolution digital file is optimized for printing at the following standard sizes, no cropping or borders required. Just download, print, and frame:

Inches	Centimeters	Suggested Use
11.7 x 16.5	A3 – 29.7 x 42	Wall art, poster, vertical frame
8.3 x 11.7	A4 – 21 x 29.7	Standard frame, home office decor
5.8 x 8.3	A5 – 14.8 x 21	Small prints, journaling inserts
4.1 x 5.8	A6 – 10.5 x 14.8	Greeting card, mini gift
7 x 10	17.8 x 25.4	Portrait print, versatile framing
5 x 7	12.7 x 17.8	Classic photo size, shelf display

 

🖨️ All sizes are print-ready at 300 DPI, maintaining the original image ratio. No cropping or borders required.

📂 Your download includes:

• 1 high resolution JPEG file (2134 x 2988 px).
• Artistic Declaration Certificate in PDF.
• Free gift: The Ages of Painting guide — a visual journey through the history of painting.

🎨 Need a different size or format?
No problem! Just send me a message and I’ll be happy to adapt it for you.

Art Review

“Polygonatum” by Gherardo Cibo: A Plant of Knowledge in the Landscape of Learning

In “Polygonatum”, Gherardo Cibo once again demonstrates his unmatched ability to infuse botanical study with narrative soul. Here, the plant —commonly known as Solomon’s seal— rises from the earth with stately calm, each leaf curved like a page turning in the wind. But it is what surrounds the plant that transforms this piece into something far greater than scientific illustration: a portrait of knowledge, humility, and human reverence for nature.

The composition is monumental in its verticality. The Polygonatum towers upward with layered green blades that spiral around its central stem like a slow, verdant ascent. The bulbous root is fully exposed, detailed in earthy browns, as if to remind us that what anchors us is as vital as what reaches skyward. But despite the plant’s grandeur, Cibo’s attention to scale does not diminish the humans below — rather, it ennobles them.

At the base of the plant, two figures are depicted in quiet communion: one reads from an open book, while the other gestures toward a small shoot. They do not dominate the scene, nor do they disrupt it. Instead, they seem integrated — miniature philosophers in dialogue with the living world. Behind them, a village nestles into the side of a forested mountain, smoke curling from chimneys, roads winding like roots through the land.

This is not just a botanical plate. It is an allegory of study and stewardship. Cibo, ever the Renaissance humanist, invites us to see the plant not as a specimen but as a source of wisdom — a living scroll unfurled by time and nature. The Polygonatum, long associated with healing and symbolic protection, becomes here a green monument to learning, contemplation, and ecological harmony.

The palette is gentle and balanced: cool greens, pale skies, quiet shadows. Even the clouds above seem to hold their breath, suspended in a moment of quiet clarity. There is no rush in this image — only observation, attention, and care.

With “Polygonatum”, Gherardo Cibo does not simply document a plant. He exalts it. And in doing so, he suggests that the true scholar is not the one who collects facts, but the one who kneels down to listen — to leaves, to roots, to silence.