Beginning in the 15th century, sweet oranges were imported from southern China by Portuguese merchants. The link between China and all types of oranges persisted for centuries, despite the fruit’s eventual cultivation in European greenhouses. Louise Moillon reinforces this relationship by placing oranges—in this case, bitter oranges native to the Mediterranean—in Chinese porcelain, which had become widely available through the Dutch East India Company’s aggressive entry into the Chinese export ware market. Moillon, who was celebrated for her attention to the surface qualities of fruit, chose porcelain as much for its luxury status as its aesthetic value, contrasting blue-and-white patterns with vibrant, textured peels.
Details
- Artist Name: Louise Moillon (French, 1610-1696)
- Title: Still Life with Bowl of Bitter Oranges and a Lemon
- Date: 1634
- Medium: Oil on panel
- Dimensions: 18-1/4 x 25-1/2 in. (46.4 x 64.8 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1972.38.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
[Herner Wengraf, Ltd., London, offered June 1972 and subsequently sold September 1972 to];
The Norton Simon Foundation.
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- London, Herner Wengraf, 1971 to
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- Wilhelm, J., L'Oeil, no. 21 p. 6
- Benedict, Kurt, Maanblad voor Beeldende Kunst, 1948, pp. 29-30
- Faré, Michel, La Nature Morte en France, 1962, pp. 373, opp. p. 88
- Harris, Ann Sutherland; and Linda Nochlin, Women Artists: 1550-1950, 1978, no. 3 p. 141
- Rosenberg, Pierre, France in the Golden Age: Seventeenth-Century French Paintings in American Collections, 1982, no. 2 p. 366
- Wright, Christopher, The French Painters of the Seventeenth Century, 1985, p. 234
- Monique Crick (author of the essay), Societe des Amis du Musee de la Compagnie des Indes (Annual publication of essays), 2002, fig. 5 p. 41
- Alsina, Domenique, Louyse Moillion (Paris, vers 1610-1696) La nature morte au Grand Siècle, 2009, fig. XX p.143, no. 20
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 849 p. 344
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