Sunday, February 24 2:00 PM
Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical
Garden's Education Building
"Cupid and Psyche: Fables and Festoons"
The stunning frescoes of the master Renaissance painter
Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520) illustrating the heavenly
adventures of Cupid and Psyche were painted to decorate the
Roman Villa of the wealthy Sienese banker Agostino Chigi
from 1515 to 1517. Surrounding these panels are festoons of
fruit, flowers, and vegetables painted by Giovanni Martini da
Udine (1487-1564). The fabulous festoon paintings consist of
almost 2000 images of fruits, flowers and vegetables and
almost 200 species.
Most important for the history of horticulture and
agriculture is that the festoons contain the first images of
maize, squash, and beans from the New World barely a
quarter century after Columbus’ encounter with the Americas.
A deconstruction and collation of the images in the festoon
makes it possible to analyze the genetic diversity of horticulture
500 years ago with special emphasis on the introduction of
maize to Europe.
SUMMARY;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Oklahoma Horticultural Society Winter Meeting PRIORITY:3END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR