> Vellums, drawings
and works by Audubon’s forerunners and contemporaries have been lent
to us by the Natural History Museum of Le Havre and the Central Library
of the National Natural History Museum of Paris,
> An engraved metal plate of the original edition lent by the National
Museum of Co-operation Franco-American (Chateau de Blérancourt)
> Pastels, early works by John-James Audubon, lent by the Houghton Library
at the Harvard College Library (Cambridge, Massachusetts),
> Engravings from the original edition of "Birds of America"
lent by the John-James Audubon State Park (Henderson, Kentucky), l’Institut
de France (Paris), the National Museum of Co-operation Franco-American (Castle
of Blérancourt), and the American Museum of Natural History (New
York)
They belonged
to Doctor Louis Bureau, curator of the Natural History Museum in Nantes from
1882 to 1919, who was none other than the young nephew of Ferdinand Rozier,
with whom Audubon emigrated to America in 1806.
Eight letters were sent from New York in 1807, addressed to Captain Audubon,
John-James’ father.
Artists from around the world
Associated with the exhibition
shown on the second floor, dedicated to Audubon, the Natural History Museum
shows the works of 11 naturalist illustrators from eight different countries
in its rooms on the ground floor:
" Denis Clavreul on Audubon's trail"
"For a long time I had planned to do a work related to the travels of John-James Audubon, to pay homage to this exceptional naturalist-artist-adventurer who has strongly marked the history of naturalist art, even though my" style " is different from his, influenced by the works of more recent animal artists and by the evolution of the visual arts in general over two centuries".
"Le rayon vert" exhibits
From
June 5 to July 14 and from September 1 to September 25, the Nantes associative
gallery located on Butte Sainte-Anne will show other works by these “naturalist”
artists.
"… Certain artists, fortunately, leave the cities sometimes,
climb in the mountains and sleep under the stars!
Humbly, they observe and describe the animal and vegetable worlds. They
bear witness to another way of looking at life. They pursue the path of
Audubon, Cuvier and Buffon. The singular nature of their step, using a scientific
approach, the simplicity of gesture and the efficacy of stroke, quenches
our thirst for something essential. Suddenly, from Lascaux to the present
day, there is just one step, one stroke on a wall....
Today, the naturalist drawing reminds us of our ties to the earth and our
origins.
It focuses our basic concerns and questions our rapport with the world…
"
Cecile Nivet,
Gallery director