This November the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) is celebrating Renaissance watercolours with a display highlighting the versatility of this medium, and its pivotal role in understanding and documenting the natural world.
We all know of the religious Renaissance masterpieces, but how much do you know about water colour botanical illustrations?
We look at French artist Jacques Le Moyne De Morgues (1533–88), whose work illustrates the evolution of plants’, from their religious symbolism to scientific inquiry. His botanical album, which was originally acquired by the V&A for its binding rather than its beautiful botanical illustrations, has been digitised for the first time in high-resolution.
The viewer can now enjoy the entire volume page-by-page, and zoom in to view finer detail. The album is being published online to coincide with the new Renaissance Watercolours display, opening on the 12th of November this year. Of the 59 beautiful coloured drawings held in the V&A archives, Surface View have carefully selected a handful that would make a great addition to any home.
The Beauty Is in the Detail
Whether you enjoy art as a canvas print or a ceramic tile mural, these botanical watercolours from Le Moyne De Morgues are delightfully detailed to make a spectacular centre piece.
The exquisite details of these pieces instantly give a sophisticated feel to whichever room they are presented in, whether it be a kitchen, conservatory, or home office.
Invite curiosity of fruits with the lovingly intricate ‘Oranges and Lemons’ or allure an amazement of artichokes with this wonderful watercolour.
Bringing the Outdoors In
Unlike the ever-changing palette of the outdoors, these intriguing works by Le Moyne De Morgues will be there to supply your daily dose of green, even during in the winter months
Why not have the luscious leaves of this mulberry bush as your kitchen roller blind shutting out the grey and instead showcasing the stunningly detailed green shades straight from the 16th century.
If floral prints are more to your taste, explore Le Moyne De Morgues' Corn Poppy piece, adding a pop of colour among a green ibis.
Why V&A?
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity, spanning 5000 years of human creativity. It was established in 1852 to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers.
Today, its purpose is to champion creative industry, inspire the next generation, and spark everyone’s imagination.
So, if you prefer a landscape or patterned textiles, why not peruse our V&A collection to find your next feature piece.
Surface View supporting Museums
2020 has been a challenging year for us all, although naturally one sector largely affected by recent events has been Museums.
With each print sold across our museum collections, you are directly supporting those respective museums. With a percentage of each sale set towards helping the museums continue their work, together we can continue to enjoy extraordinary spectacles, both physically and virtually.
Create your own home gallery with museum quality prints from Surface View.
Make a Statement With Your Interiors
Whether you’re looking for something purely aesthetic or a daring focal point with a story behind it, you’re sure to find the perfect pieces to complete your collection.
Once you have your prints in place, make sure you share to social and tag us @surfaceview on all platforms for a chance to be featured on our feed.
