Bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) with violet fruit by Pierre Joseph Redouté

No one expects to see a purple bitter orange. That is precisely why the eye is drawn to the dark fruit on the right, which shifts between shades of green and purple, whilst on the left the ripe bitter orange glows in a warm orange. The illustration depicts Citrus aurantium in the rare variety Bigaradia violacea: a single twig with leaves, white and pink flowers, and young and ripe fruits. Everything is depicted freely against a light background, clearly labelled, with the plate number at the top and a bilingual description at the bottom. I particularly like these purple fruits because they immediately lend an air of the unusual to what is otherwise a very classical botanical illustration. Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) is regarded as the ‘Raphael of Flowers’. He combined botanical accuracy with exquisite botanical illustration and worked for Marie Antoinette and Empress Joséphine, amongst others. This blend of science and grace permeates the entire print: every leaf vein is rendered perfectly, yet nothing appears dry.

The print is mounted on ‘Leonardo’, a satin-finished canvas, stretched on a stretcher frame, 35 x 45 cm, without glass or a passe-partout. What makes this piece special is the colour harmony between the artwork and the frame. Sinead, a simple profile with an oak veneer, sits perfectly between the warm beige of the paper background and the olive-green leaves. The wood appears as a continuation of the branch in the picture - the same natural tone, just a shade richer. This lends greater weight to the cooler, violet fruit; it is the only shade that finds no echo in the frame, and that is precisely what makes it the focal point. The orange of the ripe fruit, too, appears warmer against the light oak than it ever could on a white background. A choice that clearly reflects careful consideration. The visible grain in the veneer converges neatly at the mitre joints; no varnish, no sheen - the frame remains material, just as the plant in the picture remains a plant. Incidentally, the motif is executed as a mirror image from the side. Up close, the dot pattern of the old engraving shimmers through the print, particularly in the shading of the ripe fruit - this is the detail that catches my eye every time. And so the circle is complete: scientific precision in the print, untreated wood all around it, and in between, this single fruit, which stands out from the rest in terms of colour.