Animal portraiture — Key Ideas to Explore

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Authors: Lydekker, Richard, 1849-1915, Kuhnert, Wilhelm, 1865-1926 [Artist] Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2023 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Animals -- Pictorial works Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 46,553

Reading time 203 min

Text sections 55

For Animal portraiture — Key Ideas to Explore, the stored edition analysis reports 46,553 words, 3 hr 23 min estimated reading time, and 55 detected text sections.

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Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Animals -- Pictorial works,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #71126

Wilhelm Kuhnert's fifty animal studies paired with Richard Lydekker's species accounts, emphasizing the artist's ability to capture lifelike animals in their natural habitats through precise observation and atmospheric landscapes.

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File: pg71126

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BEING FIFTY STUDIES BY WILHELM KUHNERT

ACCOMPANIED BY A SERIES OF ORIGINAL ARTICLES

BY R. LYDEKKER F.R.S.

London FREDERICK WARNE & Cº. & New York

Wilhelm Kuhnert is the greatest animal-painter of our day. There has never been a more excellent colourist or more skilful draughtsman of shape and action; and there is none with a more masterly touch or more unmistakable individuality. There is no misunderstanding his intention. The lifelike likeness of the animal set in its local atmosphere is his predominating endeavour. His range is of the widest, and his subjects all come alike to him; he has no preference for any particular group or family, but draws them all, vertebrate and invertebrate, with power, truth, and sympathy.

With a knowledge of the very soul of the animal such as few possess, his pictures are replete with insight into character and its vivid expression, and fascinate even those who may not adequately appreciate their wonderful accuracy. “We who have travelled,” as Mr. G. J. Millais remarks, “do not need to be told that his studies from nature are correct. His lions, elephants, zebras, and antelopes are so real that we feel we are gazing at them on the plains of East Africa. The landscapes are simple but intense; sunlight is there, and the trees and grass are just those that grow in the habitat of these species. Kuhnert has, as it were, got inside the very skin of African life, and draws you insensibly within the charmed circle.”

In a gallery his works at once arrest attention by their vigorous realism. There is life within the frame of whatever he paints. He is the Frans Hals of animal portraiture.

He was born at Oppeln in Silesia on the 28th of September 1865, and during his student days at the Academy of Berlin, was influentially advised to devote himself to animal painting, for which he had evidently a special gift. He began, however, as a portrait painter, and from his pictures, particularly those of African life, it is clear that in that branch of art he would have distinguished himself; but fortunately, he could not withstand his inclination. From a painter of portraits of men and women he developed into a portrait-painter of animals, finding his subjects alive by the countryside and in menageries and zoological gardens, and then seeking them farther afield in Africa and Southern Asia, where he worked assiduously in forest and jungle. Fifty of his characteristic studies are included in this book, and in them, as in all, the blending of the animal with the surroundings is remarkable, and the faithfulness with which the landscape, painted on the spot, has been rendered is apparent at a glance.

Search as we will we shall find nothing truer to nature than such triumphs of art as the Polar Bear amid the Arctic ice, the hairy Tigers by the snowy mountain lake, the slender Flamingoes in the evening landscape, the Silver Gull sweeping above the ocean waves, the Black Swans as an idyll of the pool, the Capercaillie posturing in the morning light, and many other masterpieces herein.

This collection, like that of the Kuhnert Exhibition at the Fine Art Society’s Gallery in Bond Street, is arranged purely on artistic lines; no attempt has been made to classify the subjects in zoological order. It is an album of animal portraiture as fully representative of the artist as possible. The pictures have been photographically reproduced in colours from the oil paintings, and the imitation is so exact that little of the charm of the originals has been lost.

I. THE LION (_Felis Leo_) 1

II. THE MANCHURIAN TIGER (_Felis tigris mongolica_) 4

III. THE SEAL (_Phoca vitulina_) 6

IV. THE ELK (_Alces machlis_) 8

V. THE CAPERCAILLIE (_Tetrao urogallus_) 10

VI. THE SQUIRREL (_Sciurus vulgaris_) 12

VII. THE ROE-DEER (_Capreolus caprea_) 14

VIII. THE REINDEER (_Rangifer tarandus_) 16

IX. THE DEFASSA WATERBUCK (_Cobus defassa_) 18

X. THE HARE (_Lepus europæus_) 20

XI. THE POLAR BEAR (_Ursus maritimus_) 22

XII. THE MANDRILL (_Maimon mormon_) 24

XIII. THE WOLF (_Canis lupus_) 26

XIV. THE WILD CAT (_Felis catus_) 28

XV. THE RED KANGAROO (_Macropus rufus_) 30

XVI. THE BLUE ROLLER (_Coracias garrulus_) 32

XVII. THE BITTERN (_Botaurus stellaris_) 34

XVIII. THE KAFIR CROWNED CRANE (_Balearica chrysopelargus_) 36

XIX. THE SILVER GULL (_Larus argentatus_) 38

XX. THE GREAT HORNED OWL (_Bubo ignavus_) 40

XXI. THE FLAMINGO (_Phœnicopterus roseus_) 42

XXII. THE NILE CROCODILE (_Crocodilus niloticus_) 44

XXIII. THE WHITE-HANDED GIBBON (_Hylobates lar_) 46

XXIV. THE ABYSSINIAN GREEN MONKEY (_Cercopithecus æthiops_) 48

XXV. THE FOX (_Canis vulpes_ or _Vulpes alopex_) 50

XXVI. THE BROWN BEAR (_Ursus arctus_) 52

XXVII. THE PINE-MARTEN (_Mustela martes_) 54

XXVIII. THE LEOPARD (_Felis pardus_) 56

XXIX. THE LYNX (_Felis_ (_Lynx_) _lynx_) 58

XXX. THE INDIAN RHINOCEROS (_Rhinoceros unicornis_) 60

XXXI. THE BISON (_Bos_ (_Bison_) _bonasus_) 62

XXXII. THE GAZELLE (_Gazella dorcas_) 64

XXXIII. THE MOUFLON (_Ovis musimon_) 66

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Wilhelm Kuhnert's fifty animal studies in this volume are accompanied by Richard Lydekker's descriptive articles, each focusing on a single species. The foreword compares Kuhnert to Frans Hals, praising his "vigorous realism" and ability to render animals "set in its local atmosphere." Lydekker's prose complements the plates with natural history details, such as the marten's preference for "woods where dead tree-trunks lie rotting on the ground" and the leopard's distinctive coat pattern. The collaboration between artist and writer creates a dual portrait—visual and textual—of each creature.

Kuhnert's Approach to Animal Portraiture

The foreword emphasizes Kuhnert's skill as a colourist and draughtsman, noting that "there is none with a more masterly touch or more unmistakable individuality." His studies are praised for blending the animal with its surroundings, with landscapes "painted on the spot." The text claims that Kuhnert "has, as it were, got inside the very skin of African life," suggesting an immersive method. His background as a portrait painter of humans is said to have informed his animal work, allowing him to capture character and expression. The fifty studies included are described as "characteristic," implying they represent his typical style and range.

Lydekker's Descriptive Style

Lydekker's articles provide factual accounts of each species, often including details of behaviour, habitat, and distribution. For example, the marten entry notes that martens "are essentially forest-animals, which prefer evergreen trees" and are "deadly foes to hares, rabbits, pheasants, and partridges." He also discusses taxonomic questions, such as whether the marten and sable are distinct species or "geographical races." The writing is precise and observational, avoiding anthropomorphism. Lydekker occasionally includes anecdotal information, such as the marten's persistence in following prey "even in deep snow," but maintains a scientific tone throughout.

The Intersection of Art and Natural History

The volume's structure pairs each plate with a corresponding article, inviting comparison between visual and verbal representation. The foreword asserts that Kuhnert's pictures are "replete with insight into character," while Lydekker's texts supply ecological context. For instance, the leopard entry discusses the "striking dissimilarity" in colouring among big cats, a topic that Kuhnert's painting would illustrate. The collaboration suggests that art and science can mutually reinforce understanding: the plate shows the animal's appearance and posture, while the text explains its habits and range. This dual approach reflects early 20th-century natural history publishing, where accuracy and aesthetic appeal were both valued.

Observations on Diction and Detail

Lydekker's diction is formal yet accessible, with phrases like "it is not a little remarkable" and "the very sufficient reason." He uses specific measurements (e.g., marten fur valued at "eight to twelve shillings") and comparative language (e.g., martens are "devoid of the unpleasant odour of the polecat"). The foreword employs superlatives: "the greatest animal-painter of our day." Kuhnert's plates are described as having "life within the frame," a phrase that emphasizes dynamism. These linguistic choices reveal an intent to convey authority and vividness, aligning the text with the visual impact of the artwork.

Readers may find it rewarding to examine each plate while reading the corresponding article, noting how Lydekker's descriptions align with or diverge from Kuhnert's visual choices. The volume offers a window into early 20th-century natural history illustration, where scientific accuracy and artistic expression were seen as complementary rather than separate.

I keep thinking about those Kuhnert studies, how the animals don’t pose but simply exist in their weather. There’s a similar quiet care in the old British Museum catalogue, where each seal and whale earns a patient, precise description of its bones and scars. It feels less like a reference book and more like a shared memory. Supplement to the catalogue of seals and whales in the British Museum — Reading Notes stayed with me that way—a gentle, factual tenderness for creatures we’ll only ever meet on paper.