Brendel's didactic models have enjoyed remarkable success since their creation, at the end of the 19th century. Used for decades to teach botany, they eventually fell into disuse. But their undeniable artistic their undeniable artistic value, they are now an exceptional heritage that many collectors. This catalogue compares models of plants - as well as fungi and bacteria - with their natural bacteria - and their natural reality, illustrating the extent to which the Brendels, father and son scientific rigour and the poetry of floral structure, with remarkable talent. While there is probably no collection of all the models made by the Brendels worldwide, the Brendels in the world, the collection held at the University of Namur is one of the finest collections in Europe.

Philippe Martin is a member of the Biology Department at the University of Namur. For the past eighteen years, he has been responsible for the management and development of the Botanical Collections of the University, including the Brendel Collection. He is the author of a book entitled: Les familles des Plantes à fleurs d'Europe occidentale (Presses universitaires de Namur).