Heather Penn
Fruit Piece: Reimagined in the Vastness of 3-D Space

Jan van Huysum's Fruit Piece immediately captured my attention while walking through the Getty. I was incredibly struck by the level of detail in the painting and the mix of colors. Jan van Huysum's main influence was 17th-century Dutch realism, but after 1720, his paintings begin to reflect 18th–century Rococo influences, such as lighter backgrounds, brighter colors, and asymmetrical, flowing compositions.

My interpretation of the painting was also guided by these two major influences. I thought the highly realistic rendering of the painting would translate well into the world of 3-D modeling. Secondly, I was interested in the idea of a contemporary Rococo piece. I decided to highlight the fantastical and decadent nature of the fruit composition by removing the context and placing it on a white background. While looking at the original painting, I found that you can zoom into smaller details and discover many appealing "crops." I arranged my fruits and flowers as a seamless transition that I hope can work compositionally on many different levels.