Jean Baptiste Lamarck, Three 18th-Century Shell Engravings

Jean Baptiste Lamarck, Three 18th-Century Shell EngravingsA beautiful set of three hand coloured 18th century engravings by Jean Baptiste Lamarck (1744 1829), drawn by Henri Joseph Redoute (1766 1852), and engraved by Robert Benard. They depict an array of attractive sea shells and were once part of the Tableau Encyclopdique et Mthodique des Trois Rgnes de la Nature (1782 1832) published by Charles Joseph Panckoucke. The details here are exquisite and the hand colouring is of the highest order. All three

Aigens often painted this lad and he’s likely related - perhaps it’s his son

can enjoy nature’s harmony without considering its obvious perils

His hair is left long and he sports a good set of sideburns

He’s wearing a heavy brown jacket with a waistcoat and tie

An enigmatic woodcut of the artist’s wife by Danish painter

the restorer decided to leave the paint layer untouched

A fine mid-19th-century portrait of a young lady with a pigeon by German artist

the pawnbroker mentioned earlier

there’s a suggestion of hope and a curiosity of what may become

Perhaps he sat on the grassy bank to the left while sketching out his studies

The portrait is signed in the lower right and housed within a gilt frame

Bodil Larsen Rohweder (1883-1975)