Nurnbergische Hesperides: No. 125 - Limon Ponzino da Neapoli. Palazzo del N. H. Cornaro à Fiesso

1708

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Nurnbergische Hesperides: No. 125 - Limon Ponzino da Neapoli. Palazzo del N. H. Cornaro à Fiesso is a 1708 by Joseph de Montalegre, a Baroque work, depicting Lemon, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Joseph de Montalegre
When & what style?: 1708 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This painting shows a woman in a fancy dress holding a basket of citrus fruits. A small dog sits at her feet. Bright oranges and lemons glow against her dark dress. The title refers to Hercules’ myth, but the fruit is really Spanish oranges. People once thought golden apples were oranges. The artist loved showing off rare citrus from Italy. Check out another work by the same artist, Joseph de Montalegre (Hungarian).

The story of this work

Overview

The title of this set refers to Hercules, a mythological figure who must complete a series of difficult tasks. One of these was procuring the golden apples of the Hesperides, the nymphs who guarded this precious fruit. Hesperides also refers to books on citrus fruit, as it was once thought that the golden apples were actually Spanish oranges.

Read the full account in the museum source.