"Amicua Melon" Hand Finished Color Engraving by George Brookshaw
This is a colored aquatint and stipple engraving finished by hand entitled "Amicua Melon", drawn and engraved by George Brookshaw and published in London in 1812 as plate LXXII in his 'Pomona Britannica; or, A Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits'. It depicts a melon still on the vine, but with a wedge cut out to reveal the internal anatomy of the fruit. The vine, leaves and beautiful flowers are shown in attractive and pleasing colors, which along with the melon sit on a light gray board. The vine is a light green grey color, the melon skin and leaves are colored in different shades of green, the melon flesh in a peach-color and the flowers are yellow. The scene is reminiscent of an engraving in an 18th century artistically stylized human anatomy atlas.
Creator: George Brookshaw (1751 - 1823, British)
Creation Year: 1812
Dimensions: Height: 29.57 in (75.11 cm) Width: 25.57 in (64.95 cm) Depth: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)
Medium: Engraving, Aquatint
Condition: See description below.
This is a colored aquatint and stipple engraving finished by hand entitled "Amicua Melon", drawn and engraved by George Brookshaw and published in London in 1812 as plate LXXII in his 'Pomona Britannica; or, A Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits'. It depicts a melon still on the vine, but with a wedge cut out to reveal the internal anatomy of the fruit. The vine, leaves and beautiful flowers are shown in attractive and pleasing colors, which along with the melon sit on a light gray board. The vine is a light green grey color, the melon skin and leaves are colored in different shades of green, the melon flesh in a peach-color and the flowers are yellow. The scene is reminiscent of an engraving in an 18th century artistically stylized human anatomy atlas.
Creator: George Brookshaw (1751 - 1823, British)
Creation Year: 1812
Dimensions: Height: 29.57 in (75.11 cm) Width: 25.57 in (64.95 cm) Depth: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)
Medium: Engraving, Aquatint
Condition: See description below.
This is a colored aquatint and stipple engraving finished by hand entitled "Amicua Melon", drawn and engraved by George Brookshaw and published in London in 1812 as plate LXXII in his 'Pomona Britannica; or, A Collection of the Most Esteemed Fruits'. It depicts a melon still on the vine, but with a wedge cut out to reveal the internal anatomy of the fruit. The vine, leaves and beautiful flowers are shown in attractive and pleasing colors, which along with the melon sit on a light gray board. The vine is a light green grey color, the melon skin and leaves are colored in different shades of green, the melon flesh in a peach-color and the flowers are yellow. The scene is reminiscent of an engraving in an 18th century artistically stylized human anatomy atlas.
Creator: George Brookshaw (1751 - 1823, British)
Creation Year: 1812
Dimensions: Height: 29.57 in (75.11 cm) Width: 25.57 in (64.95 cm) Depth: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)
Medium: Engraving, Aquatint
Condition: See description below.
The engraving is presented in an archival museum style antiqued gold-colored and dark brown wood frame with a beige outer mat with a gold highlight and a brown inner mat. The frame measures 29.57" high, 25.57" wide and 1.25" deep. There are a few small defects along the edge of the frame, but it is otherwise in very good condition. Multiple tiny faint spots are present on the beige mat. A few small spots are present in the margin of the print, which is otherwise in very good condition.
Brookshaw spent nearly ten years to create 'Pomona Brittanica'. It is considered a masterpiece among 19th-century British illustrated botanical books due to the illustrations that Brookshaw both drew and engraved for the book. He combined aquatint, stipple and line engraving techniques with unique elegant compositions of his subjects portrayed in rich pleasing colors contrasted by striking and dramatic deep chocolate brown backgrounds that make the fruit appear to float off of the paper. His compositions achieved a unique level of artistic style and beauty combined with academic and scientific content that was rare among the work of other artists of the time.
George Brookshaw (1751–1823) began his career as a cabinet-maker specializing in furniture decorated with borders of flowers. He became a professional art teacher and in 1797 he published an instructional guide entitled "A New Treatise on Flower Painting". He eventually became a professional artist and author, publishing 'Pomona Brittanica' in 1812, late in his career. His goal was to create a visual display of some of the best examples of fruit available in England at the time, which he hoped would encourage gardeners to experiment and to be creative in their gardens. 90 striking drawings and engravings of over 250 varieties of fruit are illustrated, including apples, peaches, melons, grapes and pears. Some of the subjects for his illustrations were found in the royal gardens at Hampton Court, Kensington Gardens and the Prince of Wales' estate in Blackheath.
