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 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 ...

from 1808 until they divorced in 1824. Her paintings of birds, particularly the pigeons, were used in

Coenraad Jacob Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch people, Dutch Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, Zoology, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dut ...

's multi-part work ''Histoire Naturelle des Pigeons et des Gallinaces''. She altered parts nine and later of this multipart work, retitling it to ''Les Pigeons'' by Madame Knip with Temminck only being author of the text. She however sent a copy to Temminck that was not tampered. She was the mother of Dutch artist

Henriëtte Ronner-Knip Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (31 May 1821 – 2 March 1909) was a Dutch-Belgian artist in the Romantic style who is best known for her animal paintings; especially cats. Biography She was born in Amsterdam into a family of artists and received he ...

. She was born in Paris. Her father was a senior navy officer. She studied art under

Jacques Barraband Jacques Barraband (or Pierre-Paul Barraband) (1767? (baptized 1768), Aubusson (Creuse), France–1 October 1809, Lyon) was a French zoological and botanical illustrator, renowned for his lifelike renderings of tropical birds. His pictures were ba ...

and exhibited her watercolours and pen illustrations at the 1808, 1810, 1812 and 1814 salons. She met Joseph Knip, a student of Van Spaendonck, at Barraband's studio. Mauritius Blue Pigeon

The alterations to the title of the work have led to problems in taxonomy, how the authors are to be cited for species described in them and the dates of publication to be considered (especially when applying the principle of priority in the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

). When the work was being prepared, Temminck lived in Holland and de Courcelles lived in Paris and was relied upon to supervise the engraving and printing. Madame de Courcelles was a friend of Marie Louise, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, and had royal patronage. Temminck discovered the alterations only after 1812 and found that he could not complain about the piracy because of her powerful friends. He however added a note on the matter at the end of the third and last volume of his 1815 work ''Histoire naturelle générale des pigeons et des gallinacés''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rifer de Courcelles, Pauline 1781 births 1851 deaths 19th-century French women artists 19th-century French painters Painters from Paris French bird artists