1- Clinus Polyactocephalus; 2- Gunellus Dolichogaster; 3- Belone Gigantea; No 4- Scomberesox

Item Information

Title:
1- Clinus Polyactocephalus; 2- Gunellus Dolichogaster; 3- Belone Gigantea; No 4- Scomberesox
Title (alt.):
1- Clinus Polyactocephalus; 2- Gunellus Dolichogaster; 3- Belone Gigantea; No 4- Scomberesox
Description:
American forays led by Commodore Matthew Perry during the mid-1800s into previously isolated Japan produced a western thirst for knowledge of eastern culture. At the request of the United States government, a team of artists catalogued aspects of Japanese life: everything from its people to regional flora and fauna. Due to the sensitive nature of Japanese-American politics, experts in flora and fauna were not present; however, depictions of the specimens by artists such as H. Patterson allowed others to later identify the subjects. All findings, writings, and drawings were printed c. 1855 in Perry's "Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan", a report handed to the U.S. Senate, and commercially published in 1856 under the same name. Several of the Marine Life prints in this collection derive from the plates of Perry's narrative, later completed with watercolor finishes by an unknown colorist. Worldly curiosity abound during the era of Manifest destiny culminates within nineteenth-century print "1- Clinus Polycephalus 2- Gunnellus Dolichogaster 3- Belone Gigantea 4- Scomberesox". Drawn in the early 1850s by artist H. Patterson, the piece was engraved and published c. 1856 as plate VII of James Carson Brevoort's "Notes on Some Figures of Japanese Fish", a section of the Senate report "Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan" prepared by Matthew Perry. To capture the texture and volume of the subjects, Patterson employs short directional hatch marks along the bodies of the fish, accompanied by areas of crosshatching or stippling for contrast. While Patterson's technical skills exceed expectations, his unfamiliarity with ichthyology creates slight errors in both the portrayals of the fish and their classifications; all scientific names used on the piece, including 'Scomberesox Saira' in Figure 4, have since been reclassified. Watercolors within the print also appear unrealistic, particularly the pink tinges, suggesting that the paint layer was added by a colorist unfamiliar with the physical subjects. Despite its imperfections discovered in hindsight, the print initially provided a baseline of visual information for western naturalists seeking to discover the marine fauna of Japan.
Artist:
Patterson, H.
Date:
[ca. 1856]
Format:
Prints
Genre:
engravings (prints)
Location:
Northeastern University Library
Collection (local):
Marine Life Prints
Notes on Some Figures of Japanese Fish: taken from recent specimens by artists of the U.S. Japan expedition
Subjects:
Clinus polyactocephalus
Gunellus dolichogaster
Belone gigantea
Scomberesox
Clinidae
Needlefishes
Belone
Sauries
Beloniformes
Fishes
Animals
Link to Item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20129195
Terms of Use:
No Copyright. The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Washington : A.O.P. Nicholson
Identifier:
marine_patterson_001