EDOUARD TRAVIES (FRENCH, 1809 - 1870) Parakeet Study

EDOUARD TRAVIES (FRENCH, 1809 - 1870)
Parakeet Study
Watercolor on paper
Signed lower left: Edouard Travies pt 1833
Paper size: 6 1/2 x 4 in
Frame size: 13 1/2 x 16 1/4 in
Provenance: Collection of Marcel Jeanson

Original Watercolor Commissioned for René-Primevère Lesson’s Buffon Publication

George-Louis LeClerc, Comte de Buffon, served as the superintendent of the Royal Gardens in Paris for over fifty years. His exhaustive and monumental Histoire Naturelle was based on the garden's extensive wildlife collections and achieved immediate popularity upon publication. Beginning in 1749, the volumes of Histoire Naturelle continued to be published well beyond Buffon’s death in 1788, with over fifty French editions, numerous translations, and countless abridgments that influenced science well into the 20th century.

In 1838, René-Primevère Lesson undertook the task of supplementing Buffon’s legacy through the Compléments de Buffon, focusing on species—particularly birds and mammals—discovered after Buffon’s time. In preparation for this and for a comprehensive edition of Buffon’s complete works, Lesson commissioned a series of original watercolors to serve as models for engravings. These illustrations were created with strict fidelity to Buffon’s vision, blending scientific accuracy with artistic excellence.

To accomplish this, Lesson enlisted the most renowned French natural history artists of his era, including Édouard Traviès, Jean-Gabriel Prêtre, Émile Blanchard, and Antoine-Charles Vauthier. Each watercolor was executed with deeply saturated pigments, often heightened with gum arabic and white, and rendered with such precision that the textures of the birds’ plumage appear almost lifelike. This example, painted by one of the foremost figures in French ornithological art, exemplifies the peak of 19th-century natural history illustration.

Édouard Traviès (French, 1809–1865)

The work of Édouard Traviès represents the pinnacle of French ornithological illustration. His exceedingly rare and delicately rendered watercolors place him among the finest scientific artists of 19th-century France.

Born in Doullens, in the Somme region of France, in March 1809, Traviès distinguished himself from his contemporaries through his mastery in both watercolor and lithography. He exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1866 and contributed exquisite hand-colored lithographs to several of the most important ornithological publications of the period. His art is celebrated for its precision, subtlety, and the refined beauty with which he captured the natural world.