Drawing
c 1475 - 1525 (made)
Place of origin |
This drawing is almost certainly a page from a manuscript herbal. We know that it was once part of a bound volume because three of the four edges of this sheet have been gilded. There are six companion pages in the V&A collection.
The drawing is fairly crude and oversimplified. You can see from the small drooping central leaf that the artist lacked the skill to represent foreshortening. Nevertheless, the detail of the plant's structure is very accurate. The textile designer James Mitten once owned this drawing. He probably used it as source material when designing floral and foliage patterns.
The drawing is fairly crude and oversimplified. You can see from the small drooping central leaf that the artist lacked the skill to represent foreshortening. Nevertheless, the detail of the plant's structure is very accurate. The textile designer James Mitten once owned this drawing. He probably used it as source material when designing floral and foliage patterns.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Gouache on vellum |
Brief description | Artist unknown: page from a mansucript herbal showing a chicory plant, late 15th or early 16th century. |
Physical description | Textile design |
Dimensions |
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Production type | Design |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Gallery label | Unknown artist
Chicory (Cichorium intybus L.)
About 1475-1525
This drawing was probably made for a manuscript herbal. The image is rather crudely executed in a thick, dull pigment, and the foreshortening is unconvincing, but the subject is readily identifiable. The structure of the plant suggests that the artist has studied either a living specimen or a botanically accurate model.
Italy
Gouache on vellum
V&A: E.1045-1986 |
Subject depicted | |
Summary | This drawing is almost certainly a page from a manuscript herbal. We know that it was once part of a bound volume because three of the four edges of this sheet have been gilded. There are six companion pages in the V&A collection. The drawing is fairly crude and oversimplified. You can see from the small drooping central leaf that the artist lacked the skill to represent foreshortening. Nevertheless, the detail of the plant's structure is very accurate. The textile designer James Mitten once owned this drawing. He probably used it as source material when designing floral and foliage patterns. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | E.1045-1986 |
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Record created | December 16, 2003 |
Record URL |
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