Artisjok 1775 - 1833

This Artichoke was drawn by Jean Bernard in the late 18th or early 19th century, using pencil, pen, and brush on paper. The layered, scaled form of the vegetable has been meticulously rendered with a dense array of lines. Notice how the artist uses hatching and cross-hatching to build up tone, creating a subtle modulation of light and shadow. This adds volume and texture to the artichoke, making it almost palpable. The drawing shows an incredible amount of patience and skill, reflecting a time when botanical illustration was both a science and an art. Works such as this, seemingly straightforward depictions, were in fact critical to understanding the natural world, not least in terms of agriculture and trade. We can appreciate Bernard's drawing not only for its aesthetic qualities, but also for its contribution to a broader cultural project: the classification and mastery of nature itself.