Birds from Diderot's
Encylopedia
Set of two handcolored engravings,
ready to frame in old handpainted french-mats.
These plates were drawn by
Francois Nicolas Martinet - one of the most
famous bird illustrators of all time - for the
Encyclopédie, the great compendium
of enlightenment knowledge published during
the second half of the 18th Century.
Francois Nicolas Martinet ((1731-1790?)
created illustrations of birds for books by
some of the most influential publications of
18th-century France.
The Encyclopedie, ou Dictionnaire
Raisonne des Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers
was published in Paris between 1762-1777. A
masterpiece of the enlightment, it set out all
the knowledge of the day, and was a first attempt
to document the techniques of mechanical production
for objects used in everyday life. Scholars
from around the world, including Benjamin Franklin
and Thomas Jefferson submitted chapters.
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher,
and man of letters, and the chief editor of
the L'Encyclopédie, one of the principal
achievements of the Age of Enlightenment. He
was a a friend of the great minds of his age
including Goethe, Rousseau, and Hume. A freethinker,
Diderot challenged the authority of the Church
and criticized the French system of government.
These are fine original engravings
on old chainlinked paper. Each engraving measures
appoximately: 10 X 15.25 inches
