Prunes
1813
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1813
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Prunes is a 1813 paint by Unknown, a Realism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a simple still life of prunes. The artist's attention to detail is interesting, as they carefully drew each prune. This level of detail suggests the artist was fascinated by the fruit, possibly due to its exotic nature. You can learn more about the use of light and shadow in this painting by looking into the technique: chiaroscuro.
A rectangular watercolour on imported western paper depicts a botanical study of prunes, showing a cluster of round fruits in varying stages of ripeness positioned in the lower left. Three branches with ovate leaves extend across the plain ground, and the work is mounted on brown-tinted paper. The painting reflects 18th- and 19th-century British interest in unfamiliar flora, often brought back by travellers as visual records rather than living specimens. Acquired in 1886, its provenance remains unidentified in the Asia Department registers.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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