Huernia barbata (Masson) Haw. Possibly 1777 - 1786

Curator: This is Robert Jacob Gordon’s watercolor and ink drawing of the Huernia barbata, created sometime between 1777 and 1786. Editor: It has a delicacy, a sparseness to it. The artist really allows the paper to breathe; it highlights the texture and fine detail of the succulent. Curator: Indeed. Gordon was a military commander for the Dutch East India Company. However, he was also a keen explorer and naturalist. His visual work contributes to natural history and colonial projects of visualizing landscapes and inhabiting their ecological systems through art. Editor: I'm fascinated by the texture he achieves with such simple materials. The stippling and the delicate use of ink create an incredible depth, particularly around the flower's core. The artist clearly understood the nature of the plant's substance, how the light would sit on that surface. It appears almost touchable. Curator: What I find interesting is how Gordon's role shaped what and how he drew. It reflects a specific European gaze imposed onto the landscape through expeditions sponsored by institutions, which became documents of the landscape. Editor: I see what you mean about the institutional backing affecting his choices, though it also feels like the work of someone genuinely in awe of the plant itself. There's care in those details, an observation born of time and perhaps repeated encounters with similar succulents. The choice of plein-air work reveals that kind of labor-intensive, on-site assessment. Curator: Absolutely. It showcases how scientific illustration was funded by European institutions but then distributed to cultivate an imagination for an emerging Europe. Editor: This reminds me about thinking of botanical illustrations more generally: labor practices, cultivation knowledge—those means are just as worthy of deeper looking. Curator: A worthwhile endeavor indeed. It truly gives a fuller image, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Yes, absolutely. Thanks for walking us through that.