Jacques Barraband (1767–1809), Turacus persa (Le Touraco)
Jacques Barraband (1767–1809), Turacus persa (Le Touraco)
Handcolored Engraving with Workshop Annotations, No. 17.
This magnificent handcolored engraving by Jacques Barraband depicts the Turacus persa (Guinea Turaco), one of the most striking of the African turacos. Produced in Paris in the early nineteenth century for François Levaillant’s ornithological works, these plates represent the height of natural history illustration. Barraband’s birds are celebrated for their elegance, precision, and luminous handcoloring.
The present sheet is especially unusual. Unlike standard published impressions, it carries no engraved title or plate number at the bottom, suggesting it was printed before the final lettering was added. Around the bird appear manuscript annotations, including references to Buffon (“Buffon V, pl. 17”) and detailed color directions. These notes show how Buffon’s taxonomy continued to be used in Barraband’s workshop as a point of reference. The coloring itself is richer and more opaque than in most published examples, consistent with the role of the sheet as a model for colorists in Levaillant’s project.
Barraband was known to supervise the coloring process closely, producing master copies to guide the teams of colorists. This annotated impression thus offers a rare glimpse into the working practices behind one of the most admired ornithological series of the early nineteenth century.
Jacques Barraband was the preeminent French ornithological artist of the early nineteenth century. Trained as a painter and engraver, he worked at the Manufacture de Sèvres and exhibited at the Paris Salon before gaining renown for his extraordinary illustrations of exotic birds. Barraband provided the drawings for François Levaillant’s great natural history publications, including the Histoire naturelle des perroquets (1801–05), Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des rolliers (1801–06), and Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d’Afrique (1805–08). His plates, engraved by Langlois, Bouquet, and others, are celebrated for their elegant composition, scientific accuracy, and brilliant handcoloring. Barraband died in Paris in 1809, but his work remains among the most admired achievements in ornithological art.
