Prunus domestica (Plum)

Jacob van Huysum moved to England in 1737 to seek his fortune and it was whilst in London that he met Georg Dionysius Ehret and collaborated on a few projects. An album of watercolours in the Royal Society Library contains works by both artists including depictions of Aloes from exactly the same view point. It is likely that they worked together on the present watercolour with Ehret completing the signed branch with the fruit, and van Huysum the blossom on the left. The technique of each branch differs, in keeping with the style of each artist. The branch signed by Ehret displays a much tighter handling of the watercolour, whereas the blossom is more typical of van Huysum's looser brushwork.
We are grateful to Dr. Sam Segal who, on the basis of photographs, confirmed that this watercolour could be the work of Ehret and van Huysum.