German Iris

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. Vividly colored flowers dominate this recreation of Jacques Le Moyne's watercolor and gouache painting "German Iris", c. 1580. Throughout his career Le Moyne created many paintings of irises: "German Iris" closely resembles "Iris" in the Victoria and Albert Museum despite coming from a different series. Both versions seem to be largely based on observation, though Le Moyne may have been influenced by Jean Bourdichon's painted iris from the "Hours of Anne of Brittany". The colors used in "German Iris" appear deeper than their pastel imitations found in "Iris". Despite his extreme attention to light and shadow, Le Moyne oversimplifies the intricate forms of "German Iris". The edges of the petals display an even, scalloped outline, which contrasts to the realistic, uneven curves of "Iris", a discrepancy possibly suggesting that Le Moyne created "German Iris" first and later improved his technique. Le Moyne's minute hatch marks and stippling add realistic texture to "German Iris". On the right side of the piece, the stem of a bud waves in a faint and unrealistic s-shaped curve, which balances the composition but detracts from authenticity of the plant study. Further inaccuracy occurs within the insect on the left, which displays five legs and lacks the tonal variety found in the rest of the piece; Le Moyne likely based his sketch on a fleeting glimpse of the insect before it flew away. The technical inaccuracies of "German Iris" pale in comparison to its rich color and detailed texture.