Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Category
Social Sciences/Humanities
Abstract/Artist Statement
According to one study, lemons are depicted in fifty-one percent of a sampling of Netherlandish paintings between 1500 and 1650, a time known as the Dutch Golden Age, as opposed to sixteen percent of Italian works made during the same period. Horticulturally, citrus plants flourish much easier in the warm Mediterranean climate, requiring special orangery hothouses to survive the cold Netherlandish winter, leading to the question as to why lemons were such a popular subject matter for Dutch painters. I have used a multivalent historical, socio-cultural, economic, and literary approach to attempt an interpretation of the lemon as object, subject, symbol and emblem, as a contemporary viewer may have seen them.
Using primary sources, research across disciplines, and Dutch Golden Age interpretation methods put forth by Svetlana Alpers in the groundbreaking Art of Describing (1983), I have peeled away multiple layers of meaning behind the predominance of the lemon’s appearance in seventeenth century Dutch paintings. As the title implies, these range widely: the traditional moralistic interpretation of vanitas paintings– objects of abundance and luxury that have short life spans, withering and rotting quickly; lemons and their pith evoking the bitter and sweet nature of life. Carpe Diem, but as newly-minted Calvinists, remember that austerity is esteemed over greed. Historically evident would appear the lemon’s ubiquity a proof positive of the Dutch Republic’s dominance in trade, showcasing the wealth of the young nation. Contemporary cookbooks and paintings of market scenes, still lives of meals, and other references attest to the ubiquity of lemons in everyday life, but it’s in medical and home remedy citations that the lemon becomes truly “juicy.” References to lemon and citrus as remedy for poison and cure for the ailment of hyper-arousal abound in both text and artwork. That a sumptuous, juicy, exotic fruit could be a cure for “lovesickness” is interesting in itself, but the matter it was utilized is quite provocative. It is this that finds the final layer– Dutch artists found the variety of textures, color, and light too provocative to resist. The luscious, peeled lemon became a skill test for the virtuosos, an investment of time, labor, and paint to showcase their mastery.
This research opened up wildly unexpected avenues, each one revealing more facets of an overlooked element of Dutch Golden Age painting. The resulting discourse is a diverse journey to uncover the reason for the lemon’s presence in so many artworks.
Mentor Name
Valerie Hedquist
Personal Statement
This research and presentation are highly interdisciplinary, relevant as much to scholars in history and botany as to those in art and art history- including anthropology, linguistics, women's studies, food science, philosophy, medicine and pharmacology. The research is not only diversely interesting, but visually enticing, presented with a sense of humor and energy. Ultimately, this work is about a search for identity. Identity of an object overlooked in research, identity of a newly-born nation during uncertain times, during an era endemic with disease. As so often is the case, much can be intuited about today through the lens of the past.
Appealing Unpeeled: The layers of meaning of lemons as portrayed in Dutch Golden Age Paintings
According to one study, lemons are depicted in fifty-one percent of a sampling of Netherlandish paintings between 1500 and 1650, a time known as the Dutch Golden Age, as opposed to sixteen percent of Italian works made during the same period. Horticulturally, citrus plants flourish much easier in the warm Mediterranean climate, requiring special orangery hothouses to survive the cold Netherlandish winter, leading to the question as to why lemons were such a popular subject matter for Dutch painters. I have used a multivalent historical, socio-cultural, economic, and literary approach to attempt an interpretation of the lemon as object, subject, symbol and emblem, as a contemporary viewer may have seen them.
Using primary sources, research across disciplines, and Dutch Golden Age interpretation methods put forth by Svetlana Alpers in the groundbreaking Art of Describing (1983), I have peeled away multiple layers of meaning behind the predominance of the lemon’s appearance in seventeenth century Dutch paintings. As the title implies, these range widely: the traditional moralistic interpretation of vanitas paintings– objects of abundance and luxury that have short life spans, withering and rotting quickly; lemons and their pith evoking the bitter and sweet nature of life. Carpe Diem, but as newly-minted Calvinists, remember that austerity is esteemed over greed. Historically evident would appear the lemon’s ubiquity a proof positive of the Dutch Republic’s dominance in trade, showcasing the wealth of the young nation. Contemporary cookbooks and paintings of market scenes, still lives of meals, and other references attest to the ubiquity of lemons in everyday life, but it’s in medical and home remedy citations that the lemon becomes truly “juicy.” References to lemon and citrus as remedy for poison and cure for the ailment of hyper-arousal abound in both text and artwork. That a sumptuous, juicy, exotic fruit could be a cure for “lovesickness” is interesting in itself, but the matter it was utilized is quite provocative. It is this that finds the final layer– Dutch artists found the variety of textures, color, and light too provocative to resist. The luscious, peeled lemon became a skill test for the virtuosos, an investment of time, labor, and paint to showcase their mastery.
This research opened up wildly unexpected avenues, each one revealing more facets of an overlooked element of Dutch Golden Age painting. The resulting discourse is a diverse journey to uncover the reason for the lemon’s presence in so many artworks.