Francois Nicolas Martinet Wall Decorations

Set of six beautiful 18th Century hand-coloured copper plate engravings from '1770- 1786 Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux' Paris Imprimerie Royale by Le Comte de Buffon Georges- Louis ...

Set of six 18th Century beautiful hand-coloured copper plate engravings from '1770- 1786 Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux' Paris Imprimerie Royale by Le Comte de Buffon Georges- Louis ...

Twenty hand-colored bird engravings by François Nicolas Martinet (1725-1804), taken from the ten volume ‘Histoire naturelle des oiseaux,’ by Georges-Louis Leclerc, compte de Buffon. ...

Fantastic set of ten beautifully hand-coloured engravings of Herons by Francois Nicolas Martinet, circa 1770. These prints are framed in a bespoke gilt bamboo frame with hessian mounts and ar70 art glass for optimal clarity. Over the course of François Nicolas Martinet career he engraved illustrations of birds for some of the most influential naturalists in 18th-Century France. These exceptional hand-coloured engravings are from Georges Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon's work Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux . The work was published in Paris from 1770 to 1786. Martinet was one of the greatest birds artists of the 18th century. He worked for the French court as an engraver and artist. Martinet's illustrations are accurate and beautifully artistic. A fantastic set of prints...

"Antique 18th century hand colored copperplate engraving of a pair of tropical bearded and spotted birds by Francois Nicholas Martinet (1725-1804), Plate 746, circa 1770. “Barbu a ve...

Lovely set of four hand-colored copperplate engravings, by Nicholas Martinet. These engravigns are from the Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, Paris Imprimerie Royale, by Le Comte de ...

François-Nicolas (1725-1804). A set of twelve 18th century French engravings of birds from Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux, L'Imprimerie R...

A set of nine beautiful hand colored copper plate engravings from '1770- 1786 Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux ' Paris Imprimerie Royale by Le Comte de Buffon Georges- Louis Marie Lecl...

Set / group of 14 François Nicolas Martinet (1731-1804) hand-colored bird prints / engravings from the Comte de Buffon's Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux Image size: 10" H x 8" W ...

A set of twelve beautiful hand colored copper plate engravings from '1770- 1786 Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux ' Paris Imprimerie Royale by Le Comte de Buffon Georges- Louis Marie Le...

Set of Francois Nicolas Martinet Engravings of Birds, Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux, (Twelve engravings), 1770-1786. A remarkable set of twel...

François Nicolas Martinet engravings of birds, Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, 1770-1786, Set of six, Dimensions: Frame: 13 inches high x 13 ...

Set of Francois Nicolas Martinet engravings of parrots, Histoire Naturelle Des Oiseaux, 1770-1786. A remarkable set of 12 engravings of parrots...

Antique French engraving of birds, Paris, late 18th century. From the Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux published from 1770-1786. A hand-colored,...

A set of eight framed and matted original, hand-colored bird engravings on paper by French engraver Francois Nicolas Martinet from 1770-1786. Each engraving identifies in French the bird depicted, and is beautifully framed in burled walnut with linen mats and walnut filet. The birds shown are as follows: Poule de Bruyere Tinamou varie, de Cayenne Le Cassique rouge du Bresil Le Cassine, du cap de Bonne-Esperance Coulon-Chand de Cayenne La Caille "Attribution Martine" Pie-Grieche Fachetee de Cayenne Courly a col blanc, de Cayenne From the Comte de Buffon's superb work, Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, published in Paris from 1770 to 1786, these lovely prints form part of a collection of 1008 fine, original hand-colored copper plate engravings. This work was the most famous & comprehensive ornithological work of the 18th century, for which Francois Nicolas Martinet, the foremost bird artist of his day, provided all the bird illustrations. Great Bird Books says of this book that it is "Certainly the most ambitious & comprehensive bird book, and ranks still as one of the most important of all bird books from the Collectors' point of view." George Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707-1788), of aristocratic French origins, was the preeminent scientist and mathematician of the late 18th century. He directed the Jardin des Plantes botanical garden in Paris, which still exists today. His most outstanding achievement came in the field of natural history with the publication of the monumental Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière (1749-1788) in 36 volumes, for which Martinet created all the bird illustrations which were also published separately in Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. The work was translated into many different languages, becoming a best seller of the day, and strong competition to the publications of such philosophers as Voltaire and Rousseau. Buffon's contributions to modern science are enormous. Charles Darwin wrote in the fourth edition of On the Origin of Species: "the first author who in modern times has treated it [evolution] in a scientific spirit was Buffon." In addition to introducing the concept of evolution to science, he laid the foundations for the development of comparative anatomy and introduced the concept of the earth's existence for much longer than the 6,000 years commonly held then. Francois Nicolas Martinet (1725-1804) was the French court engraver and artist. He illustrated many of the plays and operas by the luminaries of the day such as Voltaire, also drawing and engraved landscapes, portraits of notables and scenes of Versailles. He lived through one of the most tumultuous times in French history, witnessing the reigns of Louis XV, followed by the excesses of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at Versailles. Towards the end of his life, he saw the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, followed by the ascent of Napoleon. His most enduring gift to the world is this beautiful work, popular now for almost a quarter of a millennium. The Martinet prints are the highlight of a beautiful modern volume entitled All The World's Birds, published by Rizzoli, showing all the prints with Buffon's descriptive text translated into English, plus a foreword by American ornithologist David Sibley...