Noble Strawberry

In 1783, the Quito painter Vicente Albán produced a striking series of six oil canvases portraying costumed locals in their natural environs consuming or peddling the region’s fruits in what is today Ecuador. The fruits depicted included guava, several varieties of passion fruit, an Andean cherry called capuli, papaya, coconut, avocado, chirimoya, chilguacanes, chamburos, mameys, pitahayas, obos and a variety of plantains. But the most pervasive fruit in the series is the Andean strawberry or frutilla. Indio principal de Quito en trage de Gala makes an explicit aesthetic connection between the colourful attire of the local inhabitants and the fruits of the land. This aspect struck many European visitors to the New World during the period, including Spanish scientists Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa. Ulloa – who, like Mutis, hailed from Andalusia –described American fruits as ‘monstrous’ gifts of nature that graced the opulent tables of Quito. In this painting, the native nobleman of Quito holds a plate brimming with huge, luscious strawberries in one hand while he tastes one with his other hand. The white inside of the Ambato strawberry is clearly visible.