The artist's profound attention to the natural object resulted in highly refined still-life paintings and botanical illustrations rendered through a complete technical mastery. The still life presented here is an exceptionally rare example of her work, depicting two pumpkins— a subject she is known to have represented only on one other occasion.

In our work, the two pumpkins (or squashes) are depicted on a stone surface: on the right, a whole pumpkin of a leaden-green colour, might correspond to the ‘marina di Chioggia’ or ‘piacentina’ pumpkin, while the one on the left, probably a butternut squash, is cut on one side to display the pulp and seeds inside. Between the two, a vine shoot creeps into the background. Garzoni records with great sophistication the individuality of each vegetable, with the same care and attention as an artist depicting their patron. The surface on which the pumpkins sit is rendered with dense stippling, while the vegetables and the leafy branch are constructed with light horizontal and vertical strokes with the tip of the brush, typical of her idiosyncratic technique.

Produced during her time in Florence, in the service of the grand ducal dynasty of the Medici, in the 1640s. This work on vellum, rediscovered after a long period in a private collection, is an exquisite example of Garzoni’s unique talent.