TULIPAE HORTORUM- an exhibition about tulips
March 13 - August 31 2010

In this exhibition the book Tulipae Hortorum had a central role. The book Tulipae Hortorum, created by the American photographer Dr. Jonathan M. Singer, together with the botanist Dr. W. John Kress. The book, dedicated to the memory of Carl Linnaeus, contains exemplary pictures of tulips and was donated by the photographer to the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences in 2009. The Tulipae Hortorum book in double elephant folio format is hand-pressed, and bound in a traditional bookbinding technique.

The exhibition highlighted the outstanding history of the tulip, from its origin in Central Asia to a flower grown in today's gardens world wide. The tulip has been a symbol of beauty, cherished by princes, sold on the stock exchange in Amsterdam, inspired poets and experimented with as food.

The Photographer Dr. Jonathan M. Singer
The American photographer Dr. Jonathan M. Singer, born in 1948, resident of New Jersey, USA. Dr. Singer is a trained surgeon, however, six years ago he decided to work as a full-time photographer. His first subject was graffiti art. Gradually, Dr.Singer elaborated on a unique method to photograph nuances of flowers in detail. Dr. Singer's work is inspired by artists from the 17th century, such as Rembrandt van Rijn. Dr. Singer has produced two major works, both in double-elephant folio format; Botanica Magnifica and Tulipae Hortorum. Botanica Magnifica was donated to the Smithsonian Institute Libraries National Museum of Natural History in USA in 2008. During the same year, Dr.Singer also received the Hasselblad Laureate Award in photography. In 2009 Dr. Singer recieved The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Carl Linnaeus Silver Medal.

See Dr. Singer´s website>>

The History of Tulip
The tulip originates from the area along the fortieth parallel, around the valleys of Tien Shan in Central Asia. In the 15th century the tulip became the official flower of the Ottoman court, from where it traveled to Europe. By the 16th century, the tulip had become a status symbol. Condrad Gestner, Carolus Clusius and Carl Linnaeus were some of the most important scientists who worked on the botany of the tulips. The tulip gradually came to be a very desirable product, eventually the trade of tulips led to financial speculation. The first person who documented the cultivation of tulips in Sweden was Olof Rudbeck the Elder; in 1685, he maintained 38 different kinds of tulips in his botanical garden in Uppsala.