Audubon
painter,
naturalist, adventurer > June 5, 2004 -
December 31, 2005
Naturalist
painter of the 19th century, John-James Audubon spent his childhood in Couëron
near Nantes on the banks of the Loire. It was there, in the marshes bordering
the river, that the young boy observed, identified and sketched his first
birds.
In 1806, Audubon left France and Couëron for the States - Linked. There
he published a collection entitled "Birds of America", which consisted
of 435 engraved and coloured prints, in "double elephant folio"
format. The first illustrator to draw life-size birds and to reconstitute
their behaviour, he fundamentally changed the way people looked at the animal
world.
Symbol of American ecology, Audubon’s name was given to the most significant
nature conservancy organisation in the USA, "The Audubon Society,"
which has more than 500,000 members.
