Still Life with Fruit Theorem Painting

Visual art, whether drawing or watercolor, in addition to needlework, was considered an essential part of a woman's education. Some women mastered art through theorem paintings, which used paper stencils for outlines. In this way, the amateur artist learned to form certain shapes, like flowers, leaves, or fruit, and to shade, so as to give the illusion of three-dimensionality. This theorem painting is meticulously colored, with extraordinary care given to the leaves' veining and to the powdery covering of natural yeast, called bloom, on the grapes' skin.