Barraband Pl. 19, Le Touraco géant
Oppenheimer Editions Print
21 1/2" x 14 3/8"
Limited edition of 500
Published 2002
Blind embossed with the Oppenheimer Editions and The Field Museum logos
Barraband's Natural History, The Oppenheimer Field Museum Edition
Jacques Barraband’s rendering skills are unparalleled. His prints of birds remain among the most life-like in natural history art. His luminously colored engravings, combined with Francois Levaillant’s exact ornithological depictions represent a high point in the history of ornithological art.
In his work, the birds seem to glow on the paper, giving off an inner vitality that comes from a brilliant use of color, a near- perfect rendering of feathers, and a breathtaking mastery of the printing process. Jacques Barraband collaborated with Louis Bouquet (1765—1814) and Langlois to create the engravings. The plates were then inked à la poupée, an early method of color printing.
Jacques Barraband (1767—1809) was well-known for his accomplishments as an artist long before he came to work for famed French naturalist Francois Levaillant (1753—1824). From 1801—1805, these men collaborated on the world’s best-known natural history work about parrots, Histoire Naturelle Des Perroquets. The pair would go on to collaborate on other great works, Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux Des Paradis et des Rolliers (Birds of Paradise), and Histoire Naturelle des Promerops (Toucans).
Established in 1999, Oppenheimer Editions has partnered with prestigious museums to make prints from their holdings. Works from the New-York Historical Society’s unrivaled collections of John James Audubon’s watercolors and the Hudson River School paintings are examples of art that otherwise would be unobtainable. Among the institutional collections we have partnered with are the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. These are not mere reproductions. They are limited-edition fine art prints made with the finest quality archival pigments on rag watercolor paper and executed to exacting standards.