Engravings of Seashells
Plate VI: Collection of Schadeloock |
Plate VIII |
Plate XII |
Plate XIX |
Plate XVIII |
Plate XX |
Plate XXII |
Plate XXV |
Plate XXVIII: Collection of Schadeloock |
George Wolfgang Knorr (1705-1761), C. Dietsch, Johann Conrad Kleemann, J.C. Keller et al. (after)
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Colorful and finely drawn natural history studies of shells, made during the Enlightenment, when many animal species were being systematically classified for the first time. Many of the specimens in these drawings came from famous Amsterdam collector's cabinets including that of Martin Houttuyn, a physician whose extensive collection of shells contained many rare species; W. van der Meulen, a wealthy merchant; and J. Brandt, a druggist. The prints also depict shells from the collections of J.P. Breyn, a Dresden physician, as well as those of Schadeloock, Muller and others. The artists' renderings are notable for their precision and delicacy, continuing in the tradition of scientific illustration as practiced by Dürer and others. They preserve the spirit of the collector's cabinet in their artful arrangements upon the page. While these works were useful compendiums for scientists, as the title Delights for the Eyes and the Spirit suggests, they were also intended for aristocrats interested in the wondrous discoveries of flora and fauna from around the world.
Georg Wolfgang Knorr was a German paleontologist, as well as a painter, draftsman, engraver, collector and art dealer. At age 18, he became a copperplate engraver for Leonhard Blanc, working with Martin Tyroff on the illustrations for Jacob Scheuchzer's Physica Sacra (1731). Later he engraved portraits, landscapes, geological formations, and animal studies after Dürer and the Kilian family. In the second half of the 18th century, Nuremberg overtook Augsburg as the center of production for fine natural history books in Germany. There, Knorr published scientific works distinguished by their beautiful hand-colored plates. His works include two posthumous productions: Deliciae Naturae Selectae Oder Auserlefenes Naturalien Cabinet (1766-67), and Les Délices Des Yeux et de L'espirit, ou Collection Generale des Differentes Espèces de Coquillages (1764-73).
References:
Dance, S. Peter. The Art of Natural History: Animal Illustrators and their Work. London: 1978. pp. 78 and 217.
Lanckoronska, Maria and Richard Öhler. Buchillustration Des XVIII. Jahrhunderts in Deutschland, Osterreich Und Der Schweitz: Dritter Teil. Leipzig: Die Spamer, 1934. I, 46.
Nissen, Claus. Die Zoologische Buchillustration: ihre Bibliographie und Geschichte. Stuttgart: 1969-78. 2235.