Treatise on Fruit Trees Pl.26
Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau
1768
Step into an 18th-century orchard with this lush botanical plate from Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau’s famous treatise on fruit trees. Published around 1768, this illustration meticulously documents the 'Chery-Duke' variety (likely the May Duke cherry), showcasing a heavy cluster of deep red fruit, serrated green leaves, and a delicate blossom floating in the top corner. It’s a beautiful marriage of science and art from the Enlightenment era, designed to help botanists and gardeners identify specific cultivars. Notice the fine, scratchy lines of the engraving—credited at the bottom right to 'F.me Dupuis'—which were then carefully hand-colored to make those cherries look good enough to eat.
- Technique
- Hand-colored engraving
- Material
- Paper