Flowers and Fruit of the Jamboa Boll, Java 1876

This is a painting of Flowers and Fruit of the Jamboa Boll, made in Java by Marianne North. North worked in a recognizably fine art medium, oil on paper, but her artistic project was far from conventional. Like other Victorian women naturalists, North was drawn to the close observation of the world. But unlike many of them, she didn't confine her attention to the display case. Rather, she went out into the field. North traveled the world making exacting paintings of plant life, ultimately donating her extensive collection to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. The vibrant red fruits here are rendered with great care, as are the leaves and blossoms surrounding them. North's direct encounter with her subject gave her an authority that transcends the traditional boundaries of botanical illustration, approaching something more like portraiture. She elevates the Jamboa Boll to a kind of individual presence.