Beefsteak Tomato - Botanical Poster 50x70cm

Malus atro-rubra - Calville Cœur de Bœuf Apple

A true pomological curiosity, the Calville Cœur de Bœuf fascinates as much by its spectacular appearance as by its strong character.

With a reddish-brown, almost black color, covered with an azure bloom reminiscent of plums, this impressively sized apple owed its success in the 19th century not to its flesh, which was greenish and not very palatable raw, but to its exceptional qualities when made into compote.

Prized in grand kitchens, it perfectly illustrates an era when hundreds of fruit varieties were cultivated, each intended for a specific use.

This vigorous apple tree is distinguished by its robust branches and upright buds, almost black on the sunny side, covered with an ash-colored down.

Its large, oval, and corrugated leaves, measuring 8 to 13 centimeters, display a beautiful green on the upper surface, and are whitish and slightly cottony on the underside.

The fruit itself is remarkable: 8 centimeters in diameter, it tapers sharply towards the eye, which is located at the bottom of a cavity raised by prominent ribs that form five elevations, giving it a characteristic pentagonal shape.

Its thick, hard skin, a glossy blackish-brown-red once the bloom is wiped off, is speckled with a few yellow dots.

The greenish flesh, firm without being crisp, reveals a somewhat coarse texture and a slightly tart, not very pronounced flavor. Preserving until March, this beautiful apple was particularly valued in pantries for the preparation of excellent compotes.

This plate is taken from the Traité des Arbres Fruitiers by Pierre-Antoine Poiteau and Pierre Jean François Turpin, a botanical encyclopedia published between 1807 and 1835, a major reference in 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 illustrated botany.

• Each poster is produced using 12-color giclée printing, the benchmark for art studios for rendering fine tones, subtle gradients, and the most delicate botanical details.
• 200 gsm 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, individually printed to order.
• Shipped in a rigid protective tube.