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"Merely to say, that each
of my
illustrations is of the size of nature, were too vague ... Not only
is every object, as a whole, of the natural size, but also every
portion of each object. The compass aided me in its delineation,
regulated and corrected each part, ... The bill, the feet, the legs,
the claws, the very feathers as they project one beyond another,
have been accurately measured." John James Audubon. Ornithological
Biography, Volume 1
And yet the absolute accuracy of Audubon’s compositions does not fully explain today’s growing appeal for these prints. Perhaps we have in Audubon prints a soothing and less hurried art from calmer times. His drawings often reflect a young United States in their simple backgrounds, such as a plantation in plate 242, the Snowy Heron. The haunting Snowy Owls (plate 121) are seemingly alone in a vast wild, perhaps having no fear of the approaching observer. Indeed, Audubon developed his own style, quite unlike that of other illustrators of the day. Regarding this, Audubon offered … |