Download Encounters with Nature - Audubon Analysis

Hoeksema Written Project 11 Audobon Analysis
November 7, 2011
As I stared at the illustration of these fierce-looking birds, attempting to recreate an
image of the drawing with as little stray from the original as possible, I contemplated the
amount of time and effort the artist must have put into creating this drawing. The detail of
the drawing is incredible; every line, color and angle represents a significant aspect of both
the aesthetic and scientific interpretations of the drawing. This is why I realized that the
main focus of the drawing, besides the fact that it is in the “Audobon Book of Birds”, is
undoubtedly the birds.
The first aspect of the book that I realized was not actually part of the picture, but
the size of the book. It raises the questions: why was there a need for such a large book?
Wouldn’t it be inconvenient to have to carry a book that big when one is using it to try to
identify birds? Well, besides the fact that a larger book would most likely sell for more
money, a larger page would be able to include more details of the birds. Freedburg wrote
about the amount of detail needed in these pictures in order for them to be used for
scientific purposes. He mentions that there were only some illustrations of animals and
plants could be used because it was so hard to include the amount of detail needed for
classification.1 There is also more space to include other objects, such as the butterflies,
caterpillar, and leaves, that point to other aspects of the birds that might not be included in
a smaller illustration. The enormity of the drawing is more aesthetically pleasing as well.
People’s eyes tend to be attracted to larger, more colorful objects than those that are
David Freedberg, “The Doctor’s Dilemmas,” The Eye of the Lynx (Chicago:
University of Illinois Press, 2002), 1-10, 275-304, 456-461
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smaller and duller. So, it is apparent that the immensity of the book is intentional because it
emphasizes the importance of the birds in the illustration.
As I began to sketch the nature depicted on the page of the Audobon, a few details
of the illustration caught my attention. One aspect that I noticed first was that there are
three birds instead of one. One would think that an artist would try to draw one large,
detailed picture of the bird to try to include every little intricacy as clearly as possible.
However, drawing three birds is actually more advantageous in terms of classification.
Nickelsen brought up the difficulty of illustrating certain plants and the same could be said
for birds as well. She writes that there are, “whole classes of objects,” that are included in
drawing something that would be used for classification.2 While an illustration with one
large bird would include the smaller, less important details of the bird, a drawing with three
birds shows the bird from different angles. Considering that one would not know in what
circumstances one would encounter the bird, knowing the bird from different angles would
be beneficial. The three birds, therefore, strengthen the significance of the bird in the
picture more than just having one would.
Even though having three birds instead of one bird includes more of the details of
the bird from all angles, usually the main focus of pictures are portrayed in the middle of
the illustrations. The three birds make the drawing unbalanced. This brings up the question:
how do we know that the birds are the intentional focus of the illustration? The answer is
the immense detail and depth of the picture. The birds have much more detail than any
other part of the picture. The other nature in the drawing have generic colors or details and
Kärin Nickelson, “Draughtsmen, Botanists and Nature: Constructing
Eighteenth-Century Botanical Illustrations,” Studies in History and Philosophy of
Biological and Biomedical Sciences 37 (2006): 1-25
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faded lines, while the birds are all specific colors and sharp edges and lines. This increases
their importance in the drawing. The birds are also in the foreground of the illustration,
while most of the other objects, besides the branch, are in the background. The different
levels of the painting not only increase the aesthetically pleasing aspect of the drawing, but
also the prowess of the birds. The fact that the three birds are in the front of the painting
and that they are much more detailed than any other part of the drawing shows that they are
clearly the most important part of the illustration.
In addition to the different angles of the birds in the illustration, I noticed the rich
colors of the illustration quickly as well. During the time when the Audobon was created, it
was rare to find classification books in color. However, especially when trying to portray
the different details of birds, color is very important. The colors of the bugs, leaves, and
branch are all not as specific as those of the birds. The birds are depicted in the most
lifelike colors that are possible. The small specifics of the birds are included in color as
well; all of the shadows created by the wings and different designs of the feathers are
present. The lush details of the birds increase the bird’s significance in the picture.
While drawing the other pieces of the picture, I began to wonder why the artist had
decided to include the leaves, two butterflies, and one caterpillar in the drawing. The artist
could have only included the birds at different angles with a blank background instead of in
nature. The birds are clearly the main focus of the illustration, so why include anything
additional that might lead the viewer’s eye away from them? I then realized that each
component besides the birds added an element that might help in the classification of the
birds. Nickelsen writes that the teacher Christoph Jacob Trew wrote in a letter to his former
teacher Johann Ambrosius Beurer, “As to the background, I will leave this to the judgment
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of the artist… I would plead once more for nature to be expressed as clearly as
possible…”3 This shows that classification artists choose their background based on what
they think would make the drawing more accurate. I saw the branch, and the moss-like
growth on it. This might help the viewer learn where the birds are found and something
about their natural habitat since moss doesn’t grow in very many places. I then noticed the
butterflies and caterpillar. The flying depiction of the bird is looking towards the butterfly,
almost as if it is chasing it. These insects might be the pray of the bird, which would help
classify the bird even more. These bugs could also help the viewer understand where the
natural habitat of the bird may be. The last aspect that I noticed was the size of the leaves in
comparison to the bird. This contrast helps make the viewer understand that the bird is
most likely quite small. The butterflies and caterpillar also help make this distinction about
the bird. Besides increasing the visual experience of the picture, the additional elements of
the drawing also increase the detail of the birds and their importance in the picture.
As I finished up my flawed attempt of refabricating the Audobon picture, I looked
back at it and found that I had included an incredible amount of detail on the birds
compared to any other part of the painting. The fact that there are three birds instead of one,
that the birds are much more detailed with their color and lines, and that the other elements
of the Audobon picture, such as the surrounding animals and plants, emphasize the
importance of the birds, all point towards the birds being undoubtedly the most important
part of the drawing. It is clear that, to the artist of this illustration, the birds signify the
Kärin Nickelson, “Draughtsmen, Botanists and Nature: Constructing
Eighteenth-Century Botanical Illustrations,” Studies in History and Philosophy of
Biological and Biomedical Sciences 37 (2006): 1-25
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“goose that laid the golden egg.”
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