I went back to the dealer source of the perfect gouache/watercolor theorem pear I offered up last week, and happily found its mate, this gem of a peach.  It certainly appears that this one was done by the same person, with the same crisp treatment of a single ripe fruit on cut stem, set off perfectly by a couple of rich green leaves. Like my favorite pieces of stone fruit, though, which show bruises and veins, this peach presents a patch of brown, commonly called scabbing, the result of a fungus. This flaw, to my eye, makes it all the better, and symbolic seeming, too, as if to remind one that perfection is an illusion, and perhaps a superficial desire too--usually the flesh of the fruit beneath the scabbing is as good and sweet as the rest!  Mid 19th c. or so, but so contemporary feeling, too. Lovely.

13 1/2" x 10 3/8" in good condition, with scattered stains and some toning around the edges of the heavy, almost card weight paper, which shows a light crease at upper left and a little unevenness along the left edge including small loss to lower left corner. Embossed seal to upper right corner, London.