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Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in 
In his ''Versuch eines Farbensystems'' (1772), Schiffermüller addressed the need for a standardised nomenclature with which to describe the countless colours of nature. Work by predecessors in this field had proved unsatisfactory: he mentions suggestions made by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (1723–1778) in his ''Entomologia Carniolica'' (1763) and August Johann Rösel (1705–1759) in his ''Insecten-Belustigung'' (1746–61). To serve as a model, Schiffermüller himself presents a table classifying and sub-classifying shades of blue, and naming them in German, Latin and French: in all, 81 German terms are listed. Matching this table, and using the same alphabetical notation, is a 3 x 12 matrix showing a set of colour samples for blue, with some discussion of the pigments used. The work also contains an attractive full-page engraving with a colour circle, inspired by the optical theory of Father
''Versuch eines Farbensystems'' at Openlibrary.org
Retrieved on 25 June 2009.
1727 births 1806 deaths Austrian lepidopterists {{Austria-scientist-stub
Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt
Hellmonsödt is a municipality in the district of Urfahr-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Upper Austria
Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austri ...
; died 21 June 1806 in Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
) was an Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
.
Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
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, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. His collection was presented to the old United Royal and Imperial Natural History Collections (Vereinigtes k.k. Naturalien-Cabinet) at the Hofburg
The Hofburg is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty. Located in the centre of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the imperial winter residence, as Schönbrunn ...
where it burnt during the revolution in 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...
. With Michael Denis
Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist.
Life
Denis was born at Schärding ...
, also a teacher at the Theresianum, he published the first index of the Lepidoptera of the Viennese region ''das Systematische Verzeichnis der Schmetterlinge der Wienergegend herausgegeben von einigen Lehrern am k. k. Theresianum'' (1775). His collection is in the ''Kaiserlichen Hof-Naturalienkabinett'' (now Naturhistorisches Museum
The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide.
The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...
Wien). Schiffermüller is also noteworthy for his work in developing a scientifically based colour nomenclature.
In his ''Versuch eines Farbensystems'' (1772), Schiffermüller addressed the need for a standardised nomenclature with which to describe the countless colours of nature. Work by predecessors in this field had proved unsatisfactory: he mentions suggestions made by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (1723–1778) in his ''Entomologia Carniolica'' (1763) and August Johann Rösel (1705–1759) in his ''Insecten-Belustigung'' (1746–61). To serve as a model, Schiffermüller himself presents a table classifying and sub-classifying shades of blue, and naming them in German, Latin and French: in all, 81 German terms are listed. Matching this table, and using the same alphabetical notation, is a 3 x 12 matrix showing a set of colour samples for blue, with some discussion of the pigments used. The work also contains an attractive full-page engraving with a colour circle, inspired by the optical theory of Father Louis Bertrand Castel
Louis Bertrand Castel (5 November 1688 – 11 January 1757) was a French mathematician born in Montpellier, who entered the order of the Jesuits in 1703. Having studied literature, he afterwards devoted himself entirely to mathematics and natu ...
(1688–1757) and hand-tinted with twelve colours continuously shading into one another. Evident throughout this pioneering work is a subtle response to the nuances of colour and their accurate rendition.
Works
* ''Versuch eines Farbensystems'', Vienna 1772Retrieved on 25 June 2009.
References
External links
* "Schiffermüller's Color System," Sarah Lowengard, ''The Creation of Color in Eighteenth-Century Europe'' Gutenberg-e series, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006) http://www.gutenberg-e.org/lowengard/C_Chap57.html * Groll, E. K. (Hrsg.): Biografien der Entomologen der Welt : Datenbank. Version 4.15 : Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, 2011727 births 1806 deaths Austrian lepidopterists {{Austria-scientist-stub