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Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery
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Product Description
From the fifteenth century onwards, as European explorers sailed forth on grand voyages of discovery, their encounters with exotic plants and animals fanned intense scientific interest. Scholars began to examine nature with fresh eyes, and pioneering artists transformed the way nature was seen and understood. In Amazing Rare Things, renowned naturalist and documentary-maker David Attenborough joins with expert colleagues to explore how artists portrayed the natural world during this era of burgeoning scientific interest.
The book focuses on an exquisite selection of natural history drawings and watercolors by Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander Marshal, Maria Sibylla Merian, and Mark Catesby, and from the collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo—works all held in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. Attenborough and his coauthors offer lucid commentary on topics ranging from the 30,000-year history of human drawings of the natural world, to Leonardo’s fascination with natural processes, to Catesby’s groundbreaking studies that introduced Europeans to the plants and animals of North America. With 160 full color illustrations, this beautiful book will appeal to readers with interests that extend from art and science to history and nature.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #166314 in Books
- Published on: 2007-10-28
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 224 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Beginning with Leonardo da Vinci, this historical overview of scientific illustrators between the late 1400s and the mid-1700s includes beautiful, intricate specimens from the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Natural History Museum, among others. Filmmaker Attenborough provides an introductory survey of the artistic representation of plants and animals through human history; succeeding chapters focus on five figures-four artists and one collector-none of whom are well-known in either scientific or art history circles. Cassiano dal Pozzo proves an eager and curious antiquarian, a church functionary in Rome who amassed a remarkable collection of illustrations featuring everything from ancient Roman artifacts, minerals and fossils to newly discovered plants and animals. Stunning work by Alexander Marshal, Maria Sibylla Merian and Mark Catesby capture plants and animals in their natural state, including dispatches from the New World and fauna newly arrived from foreign lands. Merian proves most fascinating, working in a time (the late 15th century) when women seldom left their homes, let alone traveled unattended to South America to draw insects and plants in the jungles of Dutch Surinam. A true feast for anyone interested in natural history, this marvelous book makes the underappreciated artworks of a passionate, talented group widely accessible. Color illustrations.
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Review
A book to savor . . . sumptuous . . . transcendent. (Washington Post)
A true feast . . . marvelous . . . passionate . . . widely accessible. (Publishers Weekly starred review)
Review
"Scientists often wonder who first illustrated biodiversity, and I imagine that artists often wonder about the chronology and development of accurate depictions of natural history. Amazing Rare Things is a welcome and long overdue integration of art and science."-Margaret D. Lowman, author of It's a Jungle Up There and Life in the Treetops (Margaret Lowman )
Customer Reviews
Exquisite Design, Beautifully Illustrated
As a botanical illustrator, I purchased this book to learn from the masters, and be able to see these vibrantly colorful illustration in full size. I was not disappointed. The book is beautifully printed on creamy paper, the colors look true, and the design is very elegant. I have returned to it time after time to see the different details, and always find something new. It's a great addition to my botanical wonders library.
A "Cabinet" of Curiosities
You'd better read the title of this book carefully before you order it sight unseen. The key word is ART, not 'natural history' or 'age of discovery'. The book is in fact a series of essays about five pioneering scientific illustrators: Leonardo da Vinci, Cassiano dal Pozzo, Alexander Marshal, Maria Sibylla Merian, and Mark Catesby. I certainly don't wish to scoff at the importance of scientific illustration, or to deny that there is no true line between such illustration and fine art. I only wish the book in hand included a good deal more of the illustrations and less of the sometimes rhapsodic texts. As it happens, this is effectively a 'coffee table' book, large format, high quality paper, excellent color printing -- just the kind of book you'd give as a holiday present to an ungrateful lout like me.
Beautiful book!
This book is a work of art. For those interested in natural history, it will make you drool. Splendidly done, and highly recommended!
