La Bernache

Martinet, François Nicolas, 1731- · [ca. 1770]

François Nicolas Martinet (1725-1804), a French artist living during the late Enlightenment Era, blends science with art in his numerous works. His passion for ornithology led him to collaborate with several notable natural historians, including Georges-Louis Leclerc, Count of Buffon. Martinet created a total of one thousand eight prints for Buffon's extensive Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux, from which the plates in this collection derive. Depicting birds in their natural habitats, the plates began as copperplate engravings and later received color from an unknown colorist, possibly Martinet himself. These avian prints emphasize scientific accuracy and natural beauty. A barnacle goose dominates Martinet's La Bernache. Printed c. 1770- 1786, La Bernache was intended to be plate eight hundred fifty-five of Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. Martinet employs hatching to distinguish soft feathers from webbed feet. He captures the wide stance of the goose, suggesting that he worked from life. To maximize accuracy, Martinet includes an element of the goose's preferred territory- grass- along with a measured bar delineating the scale of the figure.