Jean-Gabriel Prêtre (20 December 1768 – 29 April 1849) was a Swiss-French
natural history painter who illustrated birds, mammals and reptiles in a large number of books. Several species of animal were named after him.
Biography
Prêtre was born in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. His father Jean-Louis Prêtre married Judith Renauld on 28 December 1767 in the church of Saint Germain. From their marriage the children Pernette Marguerite, Jean-Gabriel and Marie were born.
He worked as a
natural history illustrator, first for Empress Josephine's zoo, and then for the Natural History Museum in Paris. He illustrated many books of animals and birds, and had several species named after him.
Species named after Prêtre
A species of
worm lizard
Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of usually legless squamates, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As ...
, ''
Amphisbaena pretrei'', is named in his honor.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Pretre", p. 211).]
Amazona_pretrei.jpg, '' Amazona pretrei'' Lithograph by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre
MonographTrochi1Goul 0252.jpg, '' Phaethornis pretrei'' painted by John Gould
John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...
and Henry Constantine Richter
Henry Constantine Richter (7 June 1821 – 16 March 1902) was an English zoological illustrator who produced a very large number of skillful coloured lithographs of birds and mammals, mainly for the scientific books of the renowned English 19 ...
Chlorophonia pyrrhophrys.JPG, "''Tanagra Pretrei'' Lafresnaye", a synonym for '' Chlorophonia pyrrhophrys''
Works
Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus.jpg, '' Alcelaphus buselaphus''
Chrysochloris asiatica.png, ''Chrysochloris asiatica
The Cape golden mole (''Chrysochloris asiatica'') is a small, insectivorous mammal of the family Chrysochloridae, the golden mole
Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family C ...
''
Felis geoffroyi by Prêtre.jpg, '' Leopardus geoffroyi''
Blanus cinereus.jpg, ''Blanus cinereus
The Iberian worm lizard, Mediterranean worm lizard, or European worm lizard (''Blanus cinereus'') is a species of reptile in the family Blanidae (worm lizards) of the clade Amphisbaenia. The Iberian worm lizard is locally known as ''cobra-ceg ...
''
Orangeblaufink.JPG, '' Passerina leclancherii''
VerreauxsEagle.jpg, Verreaux's eagle
Verreaux's eagle (''Aquila verreauxii'') is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the Indian black eagle (''Ictinaetus malayensis''), which lives far to t ...
Zootoca vivipara.jpg, ''Zootoca vivipara
The viviparous lizard, or common lizard, (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara''), is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it ...
''
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Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pretre, Jean-Gabriel
1768 births
1849 deaths
Natural history illustrators
French painters
18th-century artists from the Republic of Geneva