Pancrace Bessa (Born 1772) was born in Paris in the Marais district. He died in 1846 leaving behind several pieces of artwork that continue to attract viewers even today. He was one of the leading flower and fruit painters in France and his flower painting still cause a lot of excitement today. He was briefly a pupil of an engraver and a botanical illustrator. Bessa was mostly influenced by the artwork of Redouté Pierre-Joseph. In 1798, Bessa and Redouté were part of Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt, and the two artists later collaborated with Napoleon on the illustrations for Forest Trees of North America by François-André Michaux which was published between 1810 and 1813, and Description of rare plants grown in Malmaison and Navarre by Aimé Bonpland which appeared in 1813.
The first work which was published under Bessa’s name alone was published in 1808. It was a series of 24 stipple engravings entitled Flowers and Fruits engraved and colored on watercolor paints made after nature. Bessa appears to have enjoyed depicting fruits. The other books illustrated by the artist include The Fruit Garden by Louis-Claude Noisette which first appeared in 1813, and Treated lemon tree by Etienne Michel which was published in 1816. In the early 19th century, Bessa, Jean-Louis Prévost, Redouté, Madame Vincent and Lancelot-Théodore Turpin de Crissé, raised France to domination in the genre of botanical painting. His favorite subjects were flowers and fruits, with intermittent foray to mammals and birds. Bessa developed a technique of color printing that made his art unique.
