"Apple Blossom" (no title)

Dateca. 1740

Artist Barbara Regina Dietzsch

MediumWatercolor and gouache on vellum

DimensionsFramed H: 23 3/8" Framed W: 20"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1990-28,A&B

DescriptionWatercolor of an apple blossom
Label TextBarbara Regina Dietzsch (1706–1783), one of the finest 18th-century botanical artists, was a member of an important and talented family of artists in Nuremberg. Dietzsch’s paintings are characterized by the use of a dark, usually brown, background. The rich brown ground in this painting creates a stunning contrast to the soft, delicate flower.

Collectors in the Netherlands and in England, including fellow artist Georg Ehret, sought after Dietzsch’s work. Her artistic influence on Ehret is evident in the plates with dark backgrounds he contributed to Mark Catesby’s great Natural History.