Muraena Anguilla

Item Information

Title:
Muraena Anguilla
Title (alt.):
Muraena Anguilla
Description:
Marcus Elieser Bloch, a German physician with a passion for natural history, compiled a groundbreaking ichthyological reference work in the 18th century. Frustrated by his predecessors' incomplete texts, Bloch decided to catalogue all of the world's known fish. His resulting twelve-volume book, Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische, was published between 1782 and 1795 and described 432 types of fish, 267 of which were previously undiscovered. Bloch's informative text was accompanied by copperplate engravings by several artists and draftsmen, including Gabriel Bodenehr, Johann Friedrich Hennig, Andreas Ludwig Krüger, C. L. Schmidt, J. G. Schmidt, and Ludewig Schmidt, among many others. Created from life, the masterful prints later received color finishes which capture their subjects so accurately that present-day ichthyologists continue to consult them. Muraena Anguilla depicts an eel for plate 73 of Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische. The print was drawn by Andreas Ludwig Krüger c. 1782-4, and includes a faint engraver's signature in the bottom right corner that may refer to either Ludewig Schmidt or his colleague C.L. Schmidt, both of whom contributed to Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische. To constrain the specimen onto a single page, the artists positioned the eel in a snakelike formation, its curving forms signifying its slithering movements. Intricate layers of hatch marks, including a woven basket-like pattern, build volume and value to replicate the eel's tubular body. Pale watercolor enriches the shading, providing additional value while coating the entire surface of the specimen with a sleek texture.
Artist:
Krüger, Andreas Ludwig
Engraver:
Schmidt
Date:
[ca. 1782]
Format:
Prints
Genre:
engravings (prints)
Location:
Northeastern University Library
Collection (local):
Marine Life Prints
Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische
Subjects:
Muraena anguilla
European eel
Eel
Conger eels
Anguilla anguilla
Anguilla (Fish)
Fishes
Animals
Link to Item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20129175
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:
Berlin : Marcus Elieser Bloch
Identifier:
marine_bloch_005