The art of bird illustration

by Maureen Lambourne

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1861605919
• ISBN13: 9781861605917
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Quantum Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 3.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An illustrated history

This beautifully illustrated book is appropriately subtitled "A visual tribute to the lives and achievements of the classic bird illustrators". The initial drawings weren't primarily ornithological intentioned and started as far back as Egyptian tomb art (with a painting of a retriever cat leaping at a bird). The chapter on illuminated bestiaries of medieval times included a detail from Raphael's tapestry for the Sistine chapel of Rome. Coming into the 1600's we see the start of engraving for Ornithological purposes with highlight being Ray and Willughby's Ornithologiae libri tres. Coming into America are pictured Flamingo's by John White and Mark Catesby, the botanist who was one of the first to include backgrounds with bird drawing. From Audubon's Birds of America, are beautiful two-page printings of the bald eagle and mallard. Perhaps some of the highlights of the book are prints from John Gould's work: with over 3100 hand-colored Lithographics in 43 volumes, there were plenty to choose from but the pair of Australian Rosella's lithographed by H.C. Richter are remarkable. This book presents a good visual introduction to the ornithological artists, up through the beginning of the 1900's. Perhaps the book does not go into enough detail about the producing techniques, and the impact of the invention of lithography. The book concludes with "the Twentieth Century" highlighting the work of Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe and his importance to British Ornithology. Perhaps in the United States, Roger Tory Peterson could have been included. If you look online for the Hill Collection at Cornell University you will also see some fine examples from these ornithological illustrators.