Tuesday, 6 October 2026

In 1711 Cosimo III of Tuscany commissioned Bartolomeo Bimbi to paint a 53-kilogram pumpkin

In 1711 Cosimo III of Tuscany commissioned Bartolomeo Bimbi to paint a 53-kilogram pumpkin

Grand Duke Cosimo III of Tuscany is customarily regarded as an unproductive, dull and mediocre ruler. To me, it takes a fine sense of humour to commission the court painter to make portraits of one's own harvest. The tongue simply refuses to call it a still life, this magnificent 53-kilogram pumpkin that Cosimo III ordered Bartolomeo Bimbi to paint in 1711. A truly ducal scale!

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