Thursday, 5/15/97 Second Nature ART: Eighteenth-century
naturalist Mark Catesby’s plant and animal drawings mirror the
beautiful grounds of their temporary home at the Huntington
Library.
By Alicia Cheak Daily Bruin Contributor lossoming flowers,
tree-climbing lizards, swooping eagles and a host of
creepy-crawlies leave the Royal Library at Windsor Castle to make
their way back home for a visit. "Mark Catesby’s Natural History of
America," a new exhibit about the images of American flora and
fauna encountered and illustrated by the 18th-century naturalist,
is on view at The Huntington Library until July 20. In a
yellow-colored room, tucked in the west-wing corner of the
Huntington Gallery, there are etchings and watercolors of flowers,
mammals and insects. It is a worthwhile stop, leaving for a moment
the austerity of the museum’s permanent collection of 17th- through
19th-century British and American art, to study these naturalistic
drawings, which are light in spirit and pleasing to the eye. The
renderings of nature are modeled from specimens collected from two
expeditions Catesby made to the New World between 1712 and 1726.
Noted immediately for their beauty, the drawings were also
preparatory works for Catesby’s "Natural History," a compilation of
North American flora and fauna which served as an important
reference for such notables as Lewis and Clark and John James
Audubon. The drawings also relate the attitudes and emotions toward
the environment in the 18th century. Catesby worked in a time of
sensitivity to the physiology, behavior and evolution of species.
Catesby himself worked in close collaboration with German botanical
illustrator Georg Dionysius Ehret, who was also Catesby’s mentor,
and who had great command of the three-dimensionalism which Catesby
sought to emulate. Together they recorded in ink and color new and
intriguing species, especially those of the New World. The
enthusiasm of discovery glimmers off the wall as one scans the
diversity of plants and animals represented; the accompanying
detail also shows Catesby’s concern for correctly depicting the
species he encountered. And these are only a fragment of a much
larger collection. The plants or animals are handled as specimens.
Removed from their habitat and shipped off to England, they came
under the watchful eye of naturalists intent on taking in as much
of the detail as possible while still preserving their beauty.
Single stalks of flowers are poised, with a stem bent here or
there, for an aesthetic effect. The manipulation makes the work not
so natural after all. But this is somewhat compensated for by the
details of the drawings. Working toward better accuracy in the
physiology of the specimen, one sees in Catesby’s work the
emergence of three-dimensional crispness, especially in the leaves
and petals. The images look fresh, as if they could be lifted off
the page. Thus the drawings, though they ought to be realistic
because of their botanical function, are also playful. Catesby,
while somewhat scientific in his approach, is not completely
objective. Bugs and spiders might be tagged on to a flower drawing
to heighten aesthetic value. A collage butterfly, the Tigerswallow
Tail, was pasted on a drawing of the Virginianus Tritolius, a
flowering plant with pods. The addition lends a light-heartedness
to the finished piece, which borders between functional realism and
aestheticism. Another piece has a green tree frog with mouth opened
and tongue extended toward a spider. Both rest on a skunk cabbage.
It is an unrealistic scene, and yet the detail is there, down to
the tiny ear hole. In a way, realism is ultimately present. The
drawings’ greatest effect is their ability to bring out the beauty
of nature. The shape, line, symmetry and color of a single plant or
animal are enough to reveal the intricacies and elegance of nature.
They call the viewer’s attention to how elegant a flower or a bug
can be. Perhaps it is perfect that the naturalistic drawings should
reside for the next two months at The Huntington, whose botanical
gardens occupy more than half of the 207-acre estate. Here is a
chance to see flora and fauna in their habitat, fresh off the
experience of examining similar images in isolated pieces inside a
glass frame. It’s also a chance to wander through the narrow lanes
of the unruly Shakespeare’s Gardens, or sit on one of the many
benches and take in the sweet-smelling occupants of the Rose
Garden. For a more Eastern experience, there are also the Japanese
and Zen Gardens, equipped with a drum bridge and a furnished
Japanese house. The opportunity is literally a few steps away for
seeing and appreciating nature with keener senses. As Catesby
himself puts it, "however accurately human art may be exercised in
the presentation of Animals (and plants), it falls short of that
inimitable perfection so visible in nature itself." ART: "Mark
Catesby’s Natural History of America" at The Huntington Library;
1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, Calif. Tuesday-Friday, 12 p.m.-4:30
p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Students $4. For more
information, call (818) 405-2141. The Royal Collection (c) 1996 Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Naturalist Mark Catesby captures the
majesty and danger of nature in his watercolor "The Bald Eagle," on
view at the Huntington Library. The Royal Collection (c) 1996 Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II The Rose Garden is one of several
beautiful botanical gardens at the Huntington Library in San
Marino. The Royal Collection (c) 1996 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
II Mark Catesby’s "The Green Lizard of Jamaica and Sweet Gum Tree."
Related Links: Huntington Art Collections, & Botanical
Gardens