Melon

Le Moyne de Morgues, Jacques, 1533?-1588 · [ca. 1580]

Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, a French artist living in Elizabethan England, specialized in naturalistic florilegia. While living in Blackfriars, London during the 16th century, Le Moyne painted dozens of plants and animals native to English gardens; however, his work remained largely undiscovered until the 20th century. These meticulous recreations of Le Moyne's watercolor and gouache pieces highlight the balance between science and art during the sixteenth century. "Melon", a recreation of a watercolor and gouache botanical study created c. 1580, delineates multiple views of the fruit. Jacques Le Moyne painted Melon as part of a series presumably for a wealthy English patron, though the work is nearly identical to Le Moyne's "Melon" from a separate series currently in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The melon's flesh contains warm colors that burst forward in contrast to the shadowed rind. Le Moyne's simple composition retains botanical accuracy by presenting multiple aspects of the melon atop a plain vellum background. Rich colors and dynamic forms place "Melon" among Le Moyne's best works.