Copper plate engraving of the Pear Tree by Pancrace Bessa, 1812.  Engraving with original hand-coloring on laid paper with visible ribbed paper texture and plate marks.  There are a total of 18 engravings available.

Pancrace Bessa was born in the Marais district of Paris.  He was one of the leading painters of flowers and fruit in the first half of the 19th century in France.  He was briefly a pupil of the engraver and botanical illustrator Gerard van Spaendonck, but was most influenced by the work of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, with whom he also studied; one of only a handful of men to do so, since most of Redouté’s pupils were women.

In 1816, the Duchesse de Berry, daughter-in-law of King Charles X of France, extended her patronage to him, leading to his giving painting lessons to the de Berry family.