Mature Pineapple with Butterflies 1705 - 1771
anonymous
minneapolisinstituteofart
hand-colored-etching, print, engraving
hand-colored-etching
egg art
possibly oil pastel
handmade artwork painting
oil painting
fluid art
acrylic on canvas
painting painterly
watercolour bleed
watercolour illustration
engraving
watercolor
"Mature Pineapple with Butterflies" is an anonymous 18th-century botanical illustration, likely created between 1705 and 1771. The detailed depiction of the pineapple, complete with its spiky leaves and intricate structure, showcases the artist's keen eye for botanical detail. The addition of butterflies adds a touch of whimsy and highlights the harmonious relationship between nature's elements. This meticulously crafted artwork, now housed at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, provides a fascinating glimpse into the study of botany during the Enlightenment era.
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By the end of the seventeenth century, growers had had limited success in cultivating the pineapple in hothouses near Leiden in the Netherlands, but it remained an expensive delicacy available only to a select few. In Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Merian explained how to prepare it: "[It] must be peeled; the skin is as thick as a finger, if it is not peeled enough, sharp hairs remain on the flesh which prick one's tongue while eating and cause great pain." It tastes, she said, as "though one had mixed grapes, apricots, red currants, apples and pears and were able to taste them at once." The attractive butterfly shown in various stages of development is the Philaethria dido (Linnaeus).
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