Champion Grapes, 19th C. Watercolor Theorem with Printed Text duck decoy Theorem painting

Theorem painting

though the sleeves can be pushed up a bit

and what first came to my mind when I saw it was Willa Cather's My Antonia

done by manipulating a sooty candle over the surface of a newly painted object

really striking

Champion Grapes, 19th C. Watercolor Theorem with Printed Text duck decoy Theorem paintingA lush looking bunch of grapes if I ever saw one. This is one of three later 19th c. theorem style watercolors of fruit I've just listed, found together in New Hampshire. I've bought and sold a number of watercolors of specific fruit specimens done in this manner looking almost like airbrush paintings (and indeed these were likely done by blowing the color with a glass straw, then hand painting the details.) With printed text identifying the specimens