Montreuil Strawberry - 50x70cm Poster

Fragaria portentosa, Montreuil Strawberry

In the 18th century, in the countryside of Ville-du-Bois near Montlhéry, an exceptional strawberry plant appeared, the result of a mutation of the wild strawberry. Transplanted to Montreuil, Charonne, and Bagnolet, this variety produced prodigious fruits that brought fame to the market gardeners of the Île-de-France region.

These monstrous strawberries, up to ten times larger than their wild ancestors, bore witness to the horticultural mastery of Parisian cultivators and their intimate knowledge of the laws of nature.

The Montreuil Strawberry required extremely rigorous cultivation. Planted in November from nurseries in Fontenay-aux-Roses, each plant was spaced 50 centimeters apart, watered several times a week, mulched, and had its runners removed during the first year.

It was only in the second and third years that the plant offered its extraordinary fruits, before being replaced after six to nine years of intensive cultivation. Without constant care (regular watering, weeding, stolon pruning) the fruits would quickly degenerate, returning to the modest size of wild strawberries.

These spectacular strawberries, less fragrant than their more regular cousins, nevertheless sold for a premium in Parisian markets, where appearance took precedence over taste.

This plate is taken from Pierre-Antoine Poiteau and Pierre Jean François Turpin's Traité des Arbres Fruitiers, a botanical encyclopedia published between 1807 and 1835, a major reference for 19th-century naturalistic illustration.

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

• Each poster is printed using 12-color giclée printing, the benchmark for art workshops for rendering fine tones, subtle gradients, and the most delicate botanical details.
• 200 g/m² paper weight, soft matte finish, 0.26 mm thickness: a result close to the original engraving, clear, glare-free, designed for hanging.
• Printed on FSC-certified paper, printed individually to order.
• Shipped in a rigid protective tube.