ArtGenetics

28/03/2026

🖼️ A garland of fruit around the sculpted bust of a girl from the 2nd half of the 17th century.
❓Can you help us? What is depicted below the numbers 1 and 2? Add your ideas below.

13/03/2026

🍅Tomato soup is a soup with tomatoes - which originated in what is known today as central Mexico down to Brazil - as the primary ingredient. It can be served hot or cold. 
📜The first published recipe for tomato soup appeared in N. K. M. Lee’s The Cook’s Own Book in 1832. 
🥫The Campbell Soup Company later helped popularize the dish with the introduction of condensed tomato soup in 1897.
🖼️Campbell’s Soup Cans is a series of 32 paintings produced by American artist Andy Warhol between 1961 and 1962. 

14/02/2026

💞 On February 14th, Valentine’s Day, couples around the world celebrate their love for each other through words, gifts and actions 💖💐. In this still life painting by Abraham Mignon a few, perhaps sensual, meanings can be found. Love might be hiding in the foods displayed on the table 👀. In the center of the still life, we see oysters that have been opened, their saps spilling on the table. Oysters are a well known aphrodisiac. Another fruit referencing love may be the pomegranate, an ancient symbol of fertility. 🪷

Pomegranate was originally grown on the Persian plateau some 5.000 years ago. Since then it has been cultivated all over the world. Pomegranates are still widely consumed for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cardiovascular benefits, supporting health and longevity. ❣️

How are you celebrating Valentine’s Day today? 🥰

🖼 Still Life with a Goblet of Wine, Fruit and Oysters, Abraham Mignon, ca. 1670 in

12/01/2026

🥬 Last year, this 19th century jadeite cabbage was part of the “100 Treasures, 100 Stories” exposition in the in Prague (on loan from the in Tapei).

🥬 It is a piece of jadeite carved into the shape of a napa cabbage head, and with a grasshopper and a locust camouflaged in the leaves.

🇨🇳 The napa cabbage is a type of Chinese cabbage that is widely used in East Asian cuisine. The first records of napa cabbage cultivation date back to the 15th century in the Yangtze River region in China.

🗺️ Since the 20th century, it has also become a widespread crop in Europe, the Americas, and Australia.

🕵️Spotted and reported by our very own .

🌐See also: https://www.nm.cz/en/about-us/news/100-treasures-100-stories-an-exceptional-exhibition-of-rare-jewels-from-the-imperial-collections-of-the-national-palace-museum-at-the-national-museum-of-the-czech-republic

15/12/2025

🍊 The sweet orange (Citrus × sinensis) is not a natural species.
🧬 It is a hybrid, originating from a cross between Citrus maxima and Citrus reticulata in southern China several thousand years ago. The oldest mention of an orange in Chinese literature dates to 314 BCE. The hybridization must therefore have occurred more than 2,300 years ago.
🎄Oranges became associated with Christmas in Northern Europe because they ripen in winter and were once rare and imported. Their presence at midwinter celebrations symbolised abundance at a time of scarcity.
🎨 Still Life with Oranges, Jars, and Boxes of Sweets (1760) by Luis Meléndez

03/08/2025

The relationship between potato and tomato, both members of the Solanaceae, has been redefined. Recent research (https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00736-6) suggests that potatoes with tubers originate from a cross between Etuberosum (potato-like species) and tomato. Genes from both species are required to form the typical potato tubers on underground stem extensions. The rise of such a cross coincided with the rising Andes, as it was likel better adapted to the changing environments.

Van Gogh : Still life with and earthen bowl and potatoes (1885).

Gauguin : Tomatoes and a Pewter Tankard on a Table (1883).

26/07/2025

09/04/2025

While visiting Lund, I found “seated woman with pomegranate and flower” from the tomb of Kybernis in . A very nice depiction of a pomegranate from 510-490 BC. Brought back to life by adding color. The original can be found in .

18/03/2025

Check this out. .vergauwen on SWR from 24min11sec about ArtGenetics: https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/sag-die-wahrheit/ziegenkaese-produzentin-und-faszien-forscher/swr/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS9hZXgvbzIyMTE4MDk

20/02/2025

In his free time, co-founder .vergauwen writes books about priests, Freemasons, classical music, or a combination of those topics. And they keep getting thicker. So far, only in Dutch, but definitely worth it.

30/01/2025

🥕Do white domesticated carrots exist? 🥕
Historically, there has been some confusion in artwork, where – for example – parsnips have sometimes been mistaken for white carrots. However, a friend’s carrot harvest demonstrates the power of genetics and natural variation. Surprisingly, a white carrot appeared spontaneously among the many orange ones (Image 1). 

🥕How does this happen? 🥕
One possible explanation is an early mutation in the biosynthesis pathway responsible for producing the orange pigment carotene (Image 2).