Artwork
Traité des arbres fruitiers: Chancellière
Traité des arbres fruitiers: Chancellière is a print by the Romanticist artist Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau. It is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
This painting shows a single pear tree branch with ripe fruit against a plain background.
This painting shows a single pear tree branch with ripe fruit against a plain background. The artist used fine lines and soft shading to make the fruit look real. The leaves and pears have tiny details—check the spots on the pears.
It’s part of a big book about growing fruit, made long after the artist died. The images were printed from engraved plates, so every copy looks sharp.
Want to see more plant art? Look up Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau (French, 1700–1782).
Overview
Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau’s illustration titled “Chancellière” appears in the 1822 volume of his treatise on fruit trees. The image depicts a solitary branch of a pear tree bearing mature fruit, set against an unadorned background that isolates the botanical subject for clear study.
Subject & Meaning
The branch represents the Chancellière pear, a cultivar valued for its size and flavor. By focusing on a single limb, the illustration emphasizes the fruit’s form, coloration, and surface texture, serving as a visual reference for growers and scholars interested in the characteristics that distinguish this variety.
Technique & Style
Executed as an engraved plate, the image relies on precise line work and subtle gradations of tone to convey volume and realism. Fine hatching defines the leaf veins and the speckled skin of the pears, while the restrained shading creates a three‑dimensional effect without the distraction of a detailed backdrop.
History & Provenance
Although Duhamel du Monceau died in 1782, the plate was reproduced for the posthumous 1822 edition of his horticultural manual. The Cleveland Museum of Art now holds this print, preserving an example of early 19th‑century scientific illustration that bridges botanical study and graphic art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau
Henri Louis Duhamel du Monceau (1700–1782) was a French artist.
