Pomegranate

Item Information

Title:
Pomegranate
Description:
Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, a French artist living in Elizabethan England, specialized in naturalistic florilegia. While living in Blackfriars, London during the 16th century, Le Moyne painted dozens of plants and animals native to English gardens; however, his work remained largely undiscovered until the 20th century. These meticulous recreations of Le Moyne's watercolor and gouache pieces highlight the balance between science and art during the sixteenth century. Pomegranate, a recreated watercolor and gouache painting by Jacques Le Moyne c. 1580, boasts incredibly detailed realism. Le Moyne captures the fruit's texture through the use of stippling and shading. The pomegranate's three-dimensional seeds command the viewer's eye due to their vivid crimson hue and rounded form. A splash of scarlet on the pomegranate's left edge adds drama, while the reflected light on the bottom right edge completes the spherical illusion. Le Moyne arranges the fruit with its seeds showing against a plain background primarily for scientific accuracy, yet his strategic placement of the branch and leaves creates a thoughtful, pleasing composition. Though part of a collection commissioned by a wealthy English patron, Pomegranate most closely resembles an earlier work in Le Moyne's collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, also called Pomegranate. Compelling naturalism and a dynamic composition indicate Pomegranate's innovative fusion of science and art.
Artist:
Le Moyne de Morgues, Jacques, 1533?-1588
Date:
[ca. 1580]
Format:
Paintings
Genre:
watercolors (paintings)
Location:
Northeastern University Library
Collection (local):
Botanical Watercolors
Subjects:
Florilegia
Elizabethan era
European art
Pomegranate
Punicaceae
Fruit
Plants
Link to Item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20129117
Terms of Use:
No Copyright. The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Contact host institution for more information.
Notes:
DuMarry
Identifier:
botanical_morgues_010