Artwork
Citron
Citron is a watercolor work on paper by the Baroque artist Vincenzo Leonardi. It dates from 1640 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This collection was put together by Cassiano dal Pozzo, who was interested in the natural world and wanted to learn more about it.
The painting is called Citron and it's a watercolour from around 1640.
It was part of a big collection of drawings and prints called the 'Paper Museum'.
This collection was put together by Cassiano dal Pozzo, who was interested in the natural world and wanted to learn more about it.
The collection includes many drawings of fruit and plants.
You can learn more about this kind of art at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
Citron is a watercolour painting created around 1640, originally part of Cassiano dal Pozzo's extensive 'Paper Museum', a 17th-century visual encyclopaedia of natural and ancient worlds.
Subject & Meaning
The work depicts a deformed citron, intentionally chosen for its abnormality. Cassiano dal Pozzo believed studying such deformities could enhance understanding of normal growth processes in plants.
Technique & Style
Executed in watercolour, the piece was likely commissioned to be a clear, objective scientific record, drawn directly from a specimen. Stylistic attributions suggest possible authorship by Vincenzo Leonardi, a frequent collaborator of dal Pozzo.
History & Provenance
Part of an initial collection of thousands of drawings and prints, Citron is one of approximately 2500 natural history subjects within the surviving 7000 works of the Paper Museum.
Context
Created during dal Pozzo's association with the Accademia dei Lincei, a pioneering scientific academy emphasizing observational study, the work reflects early modern scientific methodologies.
Artist & collection
Artist
Vincenzo Leonardi was an Italian illustrator of natural history, who for some 20 years collaborated with Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588–1657), a prominent member of the Lincean Academy and noted art collector from Turin.
