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Globe artichoke

Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues

1575

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Byzantine icon painting Renaissance Renaissance Floral

Dominant colour

Globe artichoke is a 1575 watercolor by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, a Byzantine icon painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues
When & what style?: 1575 · Byzantine icon painting
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This is a single globe artichoke, drawn in watercolor. The plant’s spiky green head sits on a thick stem with a few leaves branching off. The leaves are detailed with veins and small hairs, and the whole plant looks realistic but slightly stylized. The artist focused on every tiny part of the plant, from the texture of the leaves to the shape of the artichoke’s scales. This kind of careful drawing was common in Renaissance science books. Check out the Renaissance to see how artists mixed art and science.

The story of this work

Overview

This botanical watercolor by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues depicts a single globe artichoke on its stalk, rendered with detailed observation. The drawing is part of a 59-plate album of watercolors on 34 sheets, acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1856 due to its fine 16th-century French binding rather than its artistic content. The album, likely created in France around 1575, reflects a period when botanical illustration was gaining scientific and aesthetic significance, blending medicinal interest with artistic precision. The verso of the sheet bearing the artichoke is left blank.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues

Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (French pronunciation: ; c. 1533–1588) was a French artist and member of Jean Ribault's expedition to the New World. His depictions of Native American life and culture, colonial life, and…

See the richer artist page