La calebassier

Hi everyone! My name is Isabella, and I'm so excited to show you a really cool picture! It's from a long, long time ago, in Brazil, way back in 1834. The artist was a man named Jean-Baptiste Debret, and he painted this picture to show us what life was like then. It's called La calebassier, which is a fancy way of saying "The Calabash Tree." nn Does anyone know what a calabash is? It's like a big, hard gourd, kind of like a pumpkin! People used them for all sorts of things back then. Look closely at the picture – can you see the calabash tree? It's got lots of big, round fruits hanging from it. See how the artist used different shades of grey to make it look round and bumpy? It's like he's showing us how the light shines on the fruit. nn Now, look at the bottom of the picture. What do you see there? That's right, a banana plant! See how the leaves are big and wide? The artist used swirly lines to show how the leaves bend and move in the breeze. And look – there are some banana peels on the ground! It looks like someone just finished eating a yummy banana. nn This picture is special because it shows us two things at once: the calabash tree and the banana plant. It's like two pictures in one! The artist was really good at showing us how things look and feel, even though he only used grey! He didn't need lots of colors to make it beautiful. nn This picture isn't just about plants, though. It shows us how people in Brazil used these plants a long time ago. They used the calabash for bowls and containers. They ate the bananas. So, this picture is a little window into the past, showing us how people lived and what was important to them. Isn't that amazing? What do you think is the most interesting part of this picture? nn

What other questions do you have about this picture? Let's talk about it!