MURA · THE COLLECTION

Avocado Branches

A branch of an avocado tree, drawn in the manner of a nineteenth-century botanical plate on cream paper: dark pebbled fruit hanging from woody stems, long leaves in every shade of green, and sprays of small pale flowers at the tips. It is precise, patient and quietly abundant.

Mura Studio · 2026 · Botanical illustration · Contemporary · story written 25 September 2026

What is going on

This is the tree behind the fruit in the bowl. The picture shows the whole cycle at once, blossom, new red leaves, mature leaves and fruit at three sizes, in the way that botanical illustration compresses a season into one plate. The drawing is fine, the colour is thin and true, and the paper is left to show through, which gives the whole thing its warmth.

How to look at it

Start with the largest fruit, low and left of centre, and count the others: seven in all, from a bud to a full avocado. Then follow the main branch to the right, where it thins and carries only flowers and the young leaves, which are red before they turn green. Look at the skin of the fruit, painted as thousands of small marks. This is a picture that repays the closest look a screen allows.

Why it is in Mura

Wild Growth, mood verdant. Among the loose, bright pictures in the collection it is the exact one, and it is hung as a rest for the eye.