Bordeaux Fig - Botanical poster 50x70cm

Ficus Burdigalensis Poit. et Turp. - Bordeaux Fig

In the 17th century, La Quintinye, gardener to Louis XIV, recommended growing only two varieties of white figs for the royal table. However, some purple figs deserved to be an exception.

Among them, the Bordeaux Fig, also called Goureau or Pear-Fig, gained prominence despite the nomenclatural controversies that plagued botanists and pomologists for two centuries.

The Bordeaux fig tree is distinguished by its slender habit, less bushy than that of white-fruited varieties. Its deeply lobed leaves allow it to be recognized from a distance; closer up, one observes that some have a glabrous petiole while others are hairy.

The fruit, not abundant during the summer harvest, is generous in autumn, a preferred period for its cultivation in the Parisian climate.

Always elongated in a pear shape, the fig has a greenish skin near the stem and a purple skin over the rest of its surface, marked with grooves and white or yellow spots.

Its purplish flesh under the skin turns tawny inside, while the seeds take on tawny and reddish hues. Poiteau frankly notes that its succulence divides enthusiasts, with some finding it excellent, others more reserved.

This plate is taken from Poiteau and Turpin's Traité des Arbres Fruitiers, a fruit encyclopedia published between 1807 and 1835, a major reference in 19th-century pomological illustration.

It combines the rigor of scientific drawing with a rare artistic sensibility, characteristic of the great plates from the golden age of illustrated botany.

• Each poster is printed with 12-color giclée printing, the benchmark for art workshops for reproducing fine tones, subtle gradients and the most delicate botanical details.
• 200 gsm paper, soft matte finish, 0.26 mm thickness: a rendering close to the original engraving, sharp, glare-free, designed for hanging.
• Printed on FSC certified paper, individually printed to order.
• Shipped in a rigid protective tube.