Cherry tomatoes, 17th of October 2015.

Watercolor. 19 cm x 22 cm.

Cherry tomatoes (above) were painted on 1st of August this year. It is interesting how the fruits at the bottom of the bunch are totally green, while those near the top, besides being bigger, are yellow and red. This is, of course, a good painting challenge. After I picked them, I attempted to preserve the fruits and leaves in water, but I didn't quite made it, so that I managed to save only a small piece of vine with leaves which were not completely crumpled - after the painting, they also shriveled.

The tomatoes, put on the white paper, were painted under an artificial light, as one can see from the shadows, but also from small shiny highlights formed by >> specularly scattered light.

Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum, originate from western South and Central America. Botanically, they are classified as fruit. For culinary purposes, they are treated as vegetables.

The taste of tomatoes that we buy today was somewhat ruined by breeding for nicer look and more uniform ripening which resulted in fruits that have less taste and sugar. Too bad. Sometimes I find tomatoes which only slightly remind me of what they could have been, but mostly their structure is paper-like or just watery. Too bad.

There are around 7500 (!) variants of tomatoes, having different shapes (e.g. pear- or plum-like, see below) and sizes. Cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme, above) are often a bit sweeter from most other variants and they are typically eaten raw, whole or cut in halves, in salads.

Tomatoes in images above and below were painted by Ernst Benary (1819 - 1893), amateur painter and entrepreneur. Benary's business was growing plants and selling their seeds. The pea seeds from his company was used also by >> Gregor Mendel for his, today famous, experiments. Although Benary descendants were persecuted by Nazis due to their Jewish origins, regardless of the fact that Benary adopted protestant Christianity, and ins pite of the complete disownment of their family bussiness by the East German socialist government, >> Benary company still exists. Today they sell flower seeds.

Images above and below were made by Ernst Benary for the purpose of marketing his business in Album Benary catalogue which were published in 1876 - 1886 period. >> Chromolithographic images for the print were engraved by G. Severeyns on the basis of Benary's originals.

Besides being a successful entrepreneur and excellent amateur painter, Benary, avant-garde for his time, cared for the well-being of his workers - for them and their families his company provided health insurance, and in Erfurt, where it was operating, it was considered to be the best place to work.

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Last updated on 17th of October 2015.