Publishing

Ferdinand Bauer
The Nature of Discovery

David Mabberley

Accompanying the voyages of exploration of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, naturalist Ferdinand Bauer painted newly discovered species of animals and plants with such precision and sensitivity that today they are marvelled at by both scientific and artistic communities. The son of a painter, Ferdinand, and his older brother Franz, turned their talent for meticulous observation and their superb drawing and painting techniques to the study and depiction of the natural world. With these skills, Ferdinand then travelled, most famously as natural history painter on the Investigator's expedition in 1801 documenting the still-undiscovered Australian exotic flora and fauna. The sublime intricacy of line and richness of colour of his work have led authorities to claim Bauer the greatest natural history painter ever known. The majority of these exquisite works are now held in the archives of the Natural History Museum, London, and many are published here for the first time.

Published by Merrell Publishers in collaboration with the Natural History Museum.

Key features

• First fully illustrated treatment of Ferdinand Bauer's work
• Authoritative text written by a distinguished scientist and respected author
• Significant artworks, both scientifically and artistically
• Exquisitely produced
• Art rarely seen in colour, beautifully reproduced

Contents
The Holy Roman Empire: Boccius and Jacquin
To the Ottoman Empire
Oxford: Flora graeca and Fauna graeca
London: Aylmer Bourke Lambert
Australia: Matthew Flinders and Robert Brown
To Timor and back
New South Wales and Norfolk Island
London again: Sir Joseph Banks
Vienna again: London twice more
VALE! Ferdinand Bauer

About the author
David Mabberley is Honorary Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

About the series
The artistically superb and scientifically important natural history paintings by pioneer artists in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have, until now, resided in the relative obscurity of the archives of the Natural History Museum, London, almost entirely unseen by the public since their creation. This ground-breaking series on the art of nature reintroduces these essential artists to both the artistic and scientific communities, bringing to light new scholarship by leading authors, re-examining the art, historical significance and contribution to scientific knowledge of these superb artists. Each is treated individually in their own exquisitely designed and illustrated volume. The Art Series is fundamental reading for natural historians, scientists, lovers of botanical and natural history illustrations and all those interested in the development of our understanding of the natural world.

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ISBN: 1 85894 087 7
Price: £29.95; $US45.00
Format: Hardback
Size: 290 x 230 mm
Extent: 128 pp, 100 illustrations, 60 in colour
Published: November 1999
Subject classification: Art history, natural history art