No 1- Etroplus Fumosus; 2- Heniochus Macrolepidotus; 3- Glyphisodon Smaragdinus; 4- Amphiprion Frenatus; 5- Apistus Rubripinnis; 6- Monocentris Japonicus

Item Information

Title:
No 1- Etroplus Fumosus; 2- Heniochus Macrolepidotus; 3- Glyphisodon Smaragdinus; 4- Amphiprion Frenatus; 5- Apistus Rubripinnis; 6- Monocentris Japonicus
Title (alt.):
No 1- Etroplus Fumosus; 2- Heniochus Macrolepidotus; 3- Glyphisodon Smaragdinus; 4- Amphiprion Frenatus; 5- Apistus Rubripinnis; 6- Monocentris Japonicus
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. Born from U.S. explorations in Japan, this nineteenth century print depicts six fish previously uncatalogued in the western world. Artist H. Patterson drew the fish during his travels to Japan with Matthew Perry in the early 1850s. Upon the return of the expedition, the print was engraved and printed c. 1856 as plate VI in James Carson Brevoort's "Notes on Some Figures of Japanese Fish", part of Matthew Perry's "Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan". The engraving simulates texture and volume by layering hatch, stipple, and crosshatch marks. Vivid colors, especially the scarlets and blues within Figures 3 and 4, complete the illusion of convincing fish. However, neither Patterson nor the colorist had substantial experience with natural history and the resulting print may not accurately represent Japanese fish. Tentative classifications of each figure appear along the bottom, though Brevoort postulates other potential names within his text. Scientific developments in the past century and a half have illuminated slight errors within the print, yet its legacy as the first piece to introduce these fish to the United States remains as impressive as it was in 1856.
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:
Etroplus fumosus
Heniochus macrolepidotus
Glyphisodon smaragdinus
Amphiprion frenatus
Apistus rubripinnis
Monocentris japonicus
Cichlids
Chaetodontidae
Anemonefishes
Pomacentridae
Scorpionfishes
Scorpaeniformes
Monocentris
Monocentridae
Fishes
Animals
Link to Item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20129196
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_002