A Pair of Woodpeckers: An 18th Century Hand-colored Bird Engraving by Martinet
This is an original 18th century hand-colored copperplate engraving of male and female woodpecker birds entitled "1. Pie Male de la Encenada, 2. Petit Pic des Moluques (Woodpeckers)" by Francois Nicolas Martinet, plate 748 from 'Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux' in association with Georges Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon, first published in Paris in 1765 by Edme Louis Daubento. It depicts a pair of woodpeckers; a female perched on a branch, looking to the left and the male apparently perched on a tree trunk, looking to the right..
Creator: François Nicolas Martinet (1731 - 1800, French)
Creation Year: 1765
Dimensions: Height: 12.38 in (31.45 cm)
Width: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)
Medium: Engraving
Condition: See description below.
This is an original 18th century hand-colored copperplate engraving of male and female woodpecker birds entitled "1. Pie Male de la Encenada, 2. Petit Pic des Moluques (Woodpeckers)" by Francois Nicolas Martinet, plate 748 from 'Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux' in association with Georges Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon, first published in Paris in 1765 by Edme Louis Daubento. It depicts a pair of woodpeckers; a female perched on a branch, looking to the left and the male apparently perched on a tree trunk, looking to the right..
Creator: François Nicolas Martinet (1731 - 1800, French)
Creation Year: 1765
Dimensions: Height: 12.38 in (31.45 cm)
Width: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)
Medium: Engraving
Condition: See description below.
This is an original 18th century hand-colored copperplate engraving of male and female woodpecker birds entitled "1. Pie Male de la Encenada, 2. Petit Pic des Moluques (Woodpeckers)" by Francois Nicolas Martinet, plate 748 from 'Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux' in association with Georges Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon, first published in Paris in 1765 by Edme Louis Daubento. It depicts a pair of woodpeckers; a female perched on a branch, looking to the left and the male apparently perched on a tree trunk, looking to the right..
Creator: François Nicolas Martinet (1731 - 1800, French)
Creation Year: 1765
Dimensions: Height: 12.38 in (31.45 cm)
Width: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)
Medium: Engraving
Condition: See description below.
This detailed and strikingly beautiful hand-colored copperplate engraving is printed on high quality laid chain-linked paper with large margins. The sheet measures 12.38" high and 9.25" wide. There is a small spot in the lower yellow border, but the engraving is otherwise in excellent condition.
Francois Nicolas Martinet (1731-c1804) was a French naturalist, engineer and artist, particularly as a skilled engraver. He produced engravings for numerous publication on natural history. He is best known for his bird engravings. Martinet also illustrated many plays and operas by Voltaire and others, as well as creating landscapes and scenes of Versailles and portraits of royalty and aristocrats.
George Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707-1788) was a French aristocrat who became a very prominent and respected scientist and mathematician. He was the director of the Jardin des Plantes botanical garden in Paris. He published the 36 volume Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière (1749-1788) which included Martinet's bird illustrations. These engravings were later published on their own in Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux.
Buffon was an early promoter of the the theory of evolution, recognized by Charles Darwin who acknowledged that "the first author who in modern times has treated it (evolution) in a scientific spirit was Buffon."
