To continue with a favourite theme of this blog I turn again
to the topic of natural history and in particular The Bauer Brothers exhibition that has been on display in the Images
of Nature Gallery at the Natural History Museum since November 2015.
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| Erica massoni L.f., 1796-1803 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Erica_massoni00.jpg |
The exhibition features the botanical and zoological
artworks of two exceptional natural history artists, Franz (1758-1840) and
Ferdinand (1760-1826) Bauer; Austrian born brothers who were educated by some
of the Continent’s most influential botanical artists of the time. You might be
thinking, “oh here she goes again reviewing yet another exhibition” and yes
that’s true. I can’t deny that that is what I’m going to do. But what I really like
about this exhibition and why I wanted to blog about it is because I was so
surprised by how taken I was with it, both in terms of content and concept.
Both brothers spent their entire lives studying and drawing
nature and the results are some truly beautiful and, I’m reliably informed,
scientifically accurate pieces of illustration. To quote the exhibition
website, the brothers ‘excelled in
learning the principles of botanical illustration according to the Linnaean
system of classification. This technique typically depicts the entire plant in
flower, but separately represents the bud and fruit, often dissected to show
the internal structure’(1). They are really fascinating pieces of art to stand
and look at, and even more so when you consider the degree of accuracy.
But behind the obvious skill both men had, I was also taken
by the stories of them as individuals. They had similar artistic styles and yet
their careers were very different from each other. Franz had been hired by Sir
Joseph Banks as the first resident artist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in
London. While Ferdinand had been hired by Banks as the natural history artist
on the HMS Investigator (1801-1805) on its expedition to Australia. There he
worked alongside Robert Brown and made many sketches, which he bought back and
based future water colours on.
They are really beautiful pieces artwork – the colours
surprisingly bold and the level of detail just amazing. I rather naively
wouldn’t have expected scientific illustration of this period to have been of
such a high standard. It really was a pleasant surprise and when in the museum
I always like to wander past and take a look, especially as the drawings and
watercolours rotate every four months.
Beyond being aesthetically pleasing, what I also think is
great about this exhibition is how it highlights the depth of the Natural
History Museum’s collections, especially those of the Library and Archives. By
having this designated gallery, which shows exhibitions on a rotating basis,
Library staff are given the opportunity to delve into the archive and special
collections to bring to light something a bit different; something that isn’t a
piece of taxidermy or a slice of science. It can really remind us as visitors
that the value of the collections for research goes beyond science and can
reveal the history of the people involved in making the museum and its
collections. I’ve made clear elsewhere that I’m a huge fan of this approach and
I was really pleased to discover that there is at least one place within the
museum, designated to informing the public about an aspect of the history of
its collections.
You can find more info about the exhibition, which runs
until February 2017 here - http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/whats-on/programs/nhm/bauer_brothers_art_exhibition.html
(1) http://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/library-and-archives/collections/bauer-brothers.html
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