Jacques Barraband (or Pierre-Paul Barraband) (1767? (baptized 1768),
Aubusson (Creuse), France–1 October 1809,
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
) was a French zoological and botanical illustrator, renowned for his lifelike renderings of tropical birds. His pictures were based on mounted specimens and his illustration was considered the most accurate ones made during the early 1800s.
Biography
Barraband was born to Jacques Barraband and Marie-Anne Bebit in 1767 (or 1768) and was baptized on August 31, 1768 at the church of Sainte-Croix in Aubusson. His father worked in the local tapestry factory and the son also worked there briefly after studying art at the local school, which was famed for producing several artists of note, including Francis Roby de Faureix and Etienne de La Seiglière de La Cour. He later moved to Paris, working at tapestry and carpet stores on rue de la Huchette and studying art at l’Academie royale de peinture under
Joseph-Laurent Malaine. During the French exposition of 1798, he produced some paintings for the carpet manufacturers Gobelins and Savonnerie and for the porcelain makers Dihl and Gerhard. He also made illustrations of insects for the French naturalist Sonnini and illustrated a book by Fournier on Egypt. He then produced a series of watercolours of birds and flowers between 1801 and 1804 by direct commission of
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. Among his most famous works are those he made to illustrate
François Le Vaillant
François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis.
People with the given name
* Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters"
* Francis II of France, King ...
's scientific studies on
parrots (''perroquets''),
birds of paradise (''oiseaux de paradis''),
roller
Roller may refer to:
Birds
*Roller, a bird of the family Coraciidae
* Roller (pigeon), a domesticated breed or variety of pigeon
Devices
* Roller (agricultural tool), a non-powered tool for flattening ground
* Road roller, a vehicle for compa ...
s (''rolliers''),
toucans (''toucans''),
barbets
Barbet may refer to:
* Barbet (dog), a dog breed
* Various birds in the infraorder Ramphastides
** African barbet, part of the bird family Lybiidae
** New World barbet, the bird family Capitonidae
** Asian barbet
The Asian barbets are a family ...
(''barbus''),
sugarbird
The sugarbirds are a small genus, ''Promerops'', and family, Promeropidae, of passerine birds, restricted to southern Africa. In general appearance and habits, they resemble large, long-tailed sunbirds, but are possibly more closely related to ...
s (''promerops''),
bee-eaters (''guêpiers''),
trogons (''couroucous''), and
turacos (''touracos''). One of his students was
Pauline Rifer de Courcelles
Pauline Knip née Pauline Rifer de Courcelles (26 July 1781 – 18 April 1851) was a French bird artist who was married to Joseph August Knip from 1808 until they divorced in 1824. Her paintings of birds, particularly the pigeons, were used in Co ...
who later married the artist
Joseph August Knip
Joseph August Knip (sometimes Latinized to Josephus Augustus Knip; baptized 3 August 1777 in Tilburg – buried 1 October 1847 in Berlicum) was a Dutch painter.
Biography
Son of decorative painter Nicolaas Frederik Knip, who was his first teacher ...
. Pauline de Courcelles illustrated the birds in Histoire Naturelle de Tangaras, des Manakins et des Todiers by Anselme-Gaetan Desmarest (1805).
Napoleon I hired Barraband to decorate the banquet hall at St. Cloud.
He was appointed a professor at the school of Arts et Dessin de Lyon in 1807 and died two years later. His only daughter Adeline became a musician.
Works illustrated by Barraband for Le Vaillant include:
* ''Histoire naturelle des perroquets'', Paris Levrault, Schoell & Cie, An IX-XII (1801–1805), 2 volumes. vol.
vol.
* ''Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des rolliers, suivie de celles des toucans et des barbus'', Paris, Denné le jeune & Perlet, (1801–1806), 2 volumes.
* ''Histoire naturelle des promérops et des guêpiers (et des couroucous et touracos, faisant suite à celle des oiseaux de paradis)'', Paris Levrault, (1806) 1807, (1816 ou 1818) 3 volumes.
Barraband worked with Louis Bouquet and Langlois to create the engravings of birds. These plates were inked, ''à la poupée'', that is the plate had different parts inked as needed and pressed to paper just once. Tone and shading corrections were done to the plates by hand.
A monument was erected in his memory at the Lyons cemetery by his students.
Gallery
Image:Barraband No51 Le Coq de roche male.jpg, ''Le Coq de roche, mâle''
Image:0 Barraband No16 Le Nébuleux étalant ses parures.jpg, ''Le Nébuleux étalant ses parures''
Image:Barraband No4 Le petit Oiseau de paradis Emeraude male.jpg, ''Le petit Oiseau de paradis Emeraude, mâle''
Image:Aratinga solstitialis - Barraband.jpg, ''Aratinga solstitialis''
References
External links
BiographyAudubon House Gallery of Natural History, ''Jacques Barraband (1767–1809)''* Robert Guinot (2002), ''Jacques Barraband : le peintre des oiseaux de Napoléon 1er'', Paris: Guénégaud. pp. 191,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barraband, Jacques
1767 births
1809 deaths
French naturalists
French bird artists
French illustrators