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Small history of taxidermy
Archeological paintings inside a cave, dated 15,000 B.C.
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Paleolithical paintings, which almost exclusively represent animals,
are the most ancient artistic expressions of Man.
Inspired by the dreams or wishes of the hunter, and of the need to materialize
the hunting stories or for some rituals, theses frescos testifies of the ancient Man's
fascination for theses animals.
Maybe the interest of Man for animal's art has an origin in our ancestor's behavior 30,000 years ago?
Taxidermy has a history and it's origin probably started in the XVII century, where the rich
collectors and scientists were exposing specimens in their curiosity offices.
Curiosity office of museo di Ferrante Imperato (1672)
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However, the basic protocols of taxidermy, as we know them today, have appeared
during the end of the XIII century and the beginning of the XIX century with the
arrival of the descriptive zoology which was trying to define a living creatures classification.
Taxidermy was then a way to conserve specimens and to make a material documentation.
Techniques were primitive and details of the representation were not a major concern.
The middle of the XIX century brought more democracy to taxidermy and the service was opened to the public,
and this motivated the evolution of techniques. This period coincided with the romantic movement and taxidermists,
just like their contemporary artists, were inspired by the stories brought back by naturalists travelers.
Their setups were exhibiting wild animals with expressive offhand manners that witnesses the human-animal relationship
of this time period.
Later, during the first half of the XX century, the museums, and particularly in the USA,
rethought their encyclopedic presentation, and the arrival of the ecological concepts
encouraged the museums to adopt an educative approach focused on entertainment.
They then tried to represent reconstitutions of natural ecosystems. The trend was on
dioramas where the natural landscape of the species was painted on a concave background.
Taxidermists were always improving their research and techniques. Today,
some taxidermists freed from commercial production constraints, see in their
setup more than a simple representation of the living and they have developed
a particular sensitivity for the animal aesthetic that they want to share.
Others imagine some evocative settings which bring the public to emotional experiences
and others also explore concepts deeply engaged in a discourse which go far beyong the
classical representation.
In fact, the history of taxidermy, be of the museum or the artisans,
cannot be dissociated of the relation between man and wild animals.
These specimens have a great value and must be considered as a testimony
and a material memory to hand down to future generations.
Reference :
Bergot S. Art et taxidermie : un jeu de connivences. La Lettre de l'OCIM, no Hors-série, Taxidermie, décembre 2002. pp.77 to 80.
Péquignot A. La taxidermie dans l'histoire des musées d'histoire naturelle. La Lettre de l'OCIM, no Hors-série, Taxidermie, décembre 2002.
pp.35 à 41
Wonders K. Exibithing Fauna-From Spectacle to Habitait Group, Curator, vol. 32, no2,1989, pp.131-155.
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