Joris Hoefnagel - Trompe l'Oeil Stem of Milkwort manuscript

In 1562, Georg Bocskay created the Model Book of Calligraphy for Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I in Vienna. Thirty years later, Emperor Rudolph II, Ferdinand's grandson, commissioned Joris Hoefnagel to illuminate Bocskay's model book. Hoefnagel added fruit, flowers, and insects to nearly every page, composing them so as to enhance the unity and balance of the page's design. In addition to added fruit and flower illuminations, Hoefnagel added to the Model Book a section on constructing the letters of the alphabet in upper- and lowercase.