Travies, Edouard

Edouard Travies (1809-1865)
Studies for 'Les Oieseaux Plus Remarquables Par Leurs Formes et Ieurs Couleurs'

Paris and London: 1857
Hand-colored lithographs, 23 1/2” x 16 1/2”

The work of Edouard Traviès represents a pinnacle in French
ornithological illustration, and his original work is exceedingly rare.
Natural history, as a descriptive pursuit bent on identifying new
species, demanded detailed illustrations. The minute precision of
Traviès’ work places him with the best of France’s scientific artists.
Traviès was born in Doullens, in the Somme district of France, in
March 1809, the younger brother of the caricaturist Charles Joseph
Traviès de Villier (1804-1859). Throughout his career he concentrated on natural history subjects, both in watercolor (he exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon between 1831 and 1866) and lithography.