1812
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Pomona Britannica: No. 64 - Scarlet Flesh Romana Melon is a 1812 by George Brookshaw, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a single scarlet melon sliced open on a dark background, seeds and flesh glowing like jewels. This melon grew in the royal gardens at Hampton Court Palace, where gardeners competed to grow the prettiest fruit. Brookshaw painted every variety in a book meant to show off England’s best produce. The dark, grainy background is aquatint—a printmaking trick that gives the fruit a spotlight glow. Want to see more fruit portraits like this? Look up technique: aquatint.
Pomona Britannica illustrates fruits cultivated at Hampton Court Palace’s gardens, the most celebrated around London. It was devoted to the most handsome varieties of fruit cultivated in England. Most of the 90 plates in this large and sumptuous book, like these, have dark aquatint backgrounds.
Melons belong to the gourd family, meaning they grow on vines and should be supported by stalks or trellises.
Read the full account in the museum source.
George Brookshaw (c. 1751–1823), also known as G. Brown, was an English painter and illustrator from London. His early career was spent as a London cabinet-maker specializing in painted furniture, often with floral…
See the richer artist page
