statelibrarynsw: Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires, qu

statelibrarynsw:Poissons, ecrevisses et crabes, de diverses couleurs etfigures extraordinaires, que l'on trouve autour des isles Moluques et sur lescôtes des terres australes … Louis Renard  MR/F59/RLouis Renard (1678/9-1746), as well as being the creator of thiswork, was also an agent in Amsterdam for theHanoverian Kings and has been described as the protégé of governors in theDutch colonies working for the Dutch East India Company. Renard nevervisited the home of these fish and crustaceans in his book, the Indiansubcontinent, the Malaysian peninsula, or the South China Sea.  The illustrations are instead, copies ofcopies from other paintings commissioned by the Dutch colonial governors Coyettand Stell.  Elements offantasy can be seen in the markings on the fish and crustaceans, such as humanfaces or potted flower motifs, and the inclusion of a mermaid in the book.  Some of the460 colour plates from these volumes have been digitised, and are available to view from the Library’scatalogue.Forinformation about the accuracy of Renard’s illustrations, you can read the article“Louis Renard’s fanciful fishes”, which is available to NSW residents, withyour Library card through ProQuestResearch Library.Pietsch, T. W. (1984,01). Louis Renard’s fanciful fishes. NaturalHistory (Pre-1988),93, 58. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198625272?accountid=13902(There’s also a brief treatment of the authorship and accuracy of Renard’s illustrations in Inventing Exoticism: Geography, Globalism, and Europe’s Early Modern World, pg 130 (Google Books).  I couldn’t find much more info for free, but they’re lovely illustrations). -- source link

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