Since I have no time to write or make up things about my latest adventures and achievements than I might as well post some interesting imagery.
Illustrations below are from Conrad Gesner’s
Historiae Animalium published 1551-1558. Believe me or not but I've read the whole thing in German while taking a seminar on natural history at McGill... Gesner’s
opus magnum is an attempt to build a connection between the ancient knowledge of the animal world and modern science. Nowadays it is considered to be the first scientifically substantiated work in the history of zoology. It is interesting though that while some of the hand-coloured woodcuts (including the famous Gesner's fox that became a symbol for many natural historians) are quite precise, i.e. drawn from life objects, there are also a few that obviously have never been seen neither by Gesner himself nor by any of his illustrators. Instead the older imagery from Medieval bestiaries and other obscure sources has been used. So, thanks to this book, we now have the most detailed and anatomically correct pictures of the unicorns and satyrs.
Gesner's
Historiae Animalium, although it included mythical creatures and imaginary beasts, was truly the first book of the kind. It included extensive information on mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles and described in detail their daily habits and movements. The book also included their uses in medicine and nutrition.
Historiae Animalium was the most widely read of all the Renaissance natural histories and was reprinted in many works over the next hundred years, including
Edward Topsell's The historie of foure-footed beastes (1607) and Ulisse Aldrovandi's
De quadrupedibus solidipedibus (1639).
The famous fox:
Not less famous rhinoceros (well, predominantly thanks to the earlier woodcut by Dürer)
( An angry looking porcupine and a chilled out rabbit )The above images gratis to
this particular page on Flickr.
You can also browse through the whole book
here.
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