Pancrace Bessa (1772-1846)

A French natural history artist, best known for his botanical illustrations. Bessa was a student of the great engraver Gerard van Spaendonck and worked alongside Pierre-Joseph Readout.

Bessa's favourite subjects were fruit and flowers, with occasional digressions to birds and mammals.

Bessa contributed to some of the most famous works of the time, including the masterpiece, Description des Plantes cultivees a Malmaison a Navarre, in which 9 illustrations are by Bessa & 54 by Redoute.