We’d like to thank all of you for the illustrated comments you posted on our previous article “Naturalist explorers, the first ambassadors”. What a variety! Here is a gallery featuring all your wonderful contributions and some others we dug out for the occasion. You can get a closer look at the details by clicking on each drawing. We’ll be back very soon with some more posts, but in the meantime please go ahead and share this page with your friends and family.
Interview with Stéphane Hette, naturalist photographer & image hunter.
Hello Stéphane, thank you for agreeing to talk with us. We’re delighted to kick off our “Fanatalk” session with you, a fellow nature enthusiast.
You’re a naturalist photographer, and we’d encourage our readers to take a look at your work through a selection of images to illustrate this interview. The French TV France 5 gardening programme “Silence, ça pousse!” did a report on you to that you can watch if you click the link at the bottom of the article. You admitted: “I am thrilled to be haunted by beautiful things”, and we completely understand your point.
S.H. On a personal level I was worried about the older people in my family, but it didn’t change my life a great deal. I live in the countryside, I see more animals than I do people, so it didn’t affect my work. I filled in the French government’s official permission slips so I could go to work, that was the only difference. Some of the images used for the interview were actually taken during lockdown. It was quieter around the ponds. I was able to make videos, which is something that I couldn’t do before because the noise pollution is usually too high. I missed riding my bike. It was hard to go two months without cycling!
S.H. Nature simply can’t recover completely in two months. But because there were fewer vehicles, it was easier to see foxes, hares, etc. The pond I usually go to wasn’t maintained, and that was cool! I am campaigning for us to prune later and better, to create one row rather than three… But no, I haven’t seen more species than usual. Perhaps because the weather was warmer, so we saw creatures earlier – especially insects – but it was more to do with the temperature rather than it being quieter.
S.H. With insects it just happened by chance, about twenty years ago now. I saw a butterfly in my house, I slipped a sheet of paper behind it and I thought, “Hey, that’s pretty, I like that”. I was fascinated. But it was hard to recreate that happy coincidence. So I set aside one of the rules of nature photography, which is to never touch your subject. I went walking around with a butterfly net and a set of little boxes. I always carry little boxes with me when I go for a walk and I bring lots of creatures home with me. It just happened naturally, and I gradually became more and more intrigued by how all this life comes into being.
S.H. That’s right. I put a white background behind the subject, whether it’s a plant, an insect or a bird. If it’s a bird, I photograph it outdoors, of course. I adjust the screen size to fit the subject and use two groups of flashes: one group that exposes the subject and the other that exposes the background, so I can remove the shadows that are generated by the first group. It might seem a bit complex, but it’s just a two-curtain sync. It’s a simple process: there are no cables, no heat, no stress for the living thing, and all the equipment fits into a backpack. I’ve been walking around with this kit for over fifteen years. People often ask me if I ever get fed up of always taking photographs in the same way! But it’s really the subject that makes the photo great, not the technique.
S.H. It’s their metamorphosis! Everyone loves butterflies, but no one likes caterpillars. I think it’s wonderful to have the ability to be several things at once. We’re all several things at once, we all have different aspects to our character. I’m a huge nature fan and I also love motorcycles! Ideally, I shouldn’t love Grand Prix motorbike racing so much!
S.H. You just have to live with it. But I’m happiest behind a camera lens. I just love taking in all the beauty around me. I don’t create that poetry; it is already there. Perhaps I enhance it, when I do my job well.
S.H. First and foremost, knowledge. They enhanced beauty with knowledge. Nature isn’t just pretty. Beauty is a question of taste and while you could say that universal beauty does exist, it is not much use in isolation. These pioneers have served as inspiration for me, but not just the ones from Europe, I really like the prints made by the Asian, Chinese or Japanese explorers. Some Chinese painters have made incredible observations, they noticed that butterfly wings actually twist, something which was only proven scientifically very recently. I have lots of books on talented illustrators from the Far East.
S.H. I have this little book called PAPILLONS (butterflies) published by the BNF, which doesn’t cost very much. It is a collection of some wonderful ancient works. I am fascinated by these painters whose culture is so different from ours, and who are also outstanding naturalists. The art of contemplation is deeply rooted in Asian philosophy, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
S.H. I was adopted when I was two years old, and although he was a great parent, I didn’t really see eye to eye with my adoptive father. So my last name, “Hette”, didn’t mean very much to me. I did many years of research and it turns out that in Japanese, [E-TE] means “the hand & the image”, therefore the illustrator, the painter, the photographer. Before, I used to be an illustrator, I can still draw, and I actually sign my books with a drawing. This Japanese name suits me much better than the original in French. And it’s a nice way to round off my pictures. Without it, I feel that something is missing to confirm that the work is mine. My signature is the small rectangle on the left, and the square that goes with it means: “the description of nature”.
Translated from French by Ruth Simpson
(www.wordharmony.fr)
To see:
‣ Émission « Silence, ça pousse ! » de France 5 (french)
‣ Galerie Blin plus Blin Fine art copies numbered, certified & signed – limited edition
To follow:
French blogs
‣ Art of Butterfly
‣ La vie rêvée des papillons
Social medias
‣ Facebook
‣ Instagram
Recommandations
‣ Bedside books
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We felt a strong desire to get out into nature when lockdown measures were eased for us city dwellers! We made up for it this summer on the winding paths of Périgord, the creeks of the Marseille coastline, the stunning beaches in the Gulf of Morbihan, the foothills of Mont Ventoux, the Cévennes corniche and the gorges of the Tarn. We found some wonderful natural life and we wanted to share it with you! We’d also love to see what specimens you have found!
As half the world’s human population went into lockdown, wild animals seemed to venture closer to us, sometimes even arriving in city centres. Schools of fish were spotted in Venetian canals, ducks promenaded in front of the Comédie-Française in Paris, dolphins played in the Sardinian port of Cagliari, wild boars trotted around downtown Barcelona, and a puma was sighted in Santiago de Chile: all these extraordinary events were captured on video and published online. But does that mean that nature can thrive only while humans are out of the picture?
No, things aren’t really that simple. Most species have adapted their habitats and behaviour to the spaces that humans have shaped for themselves. The fauna that we’ve been surprised to see in urban areas often lives unseen, but close by. One of the reasons some animals venture further when fewer people are moving around is that they are looking for food. Some even go so far as to make their homes in objects that people have temporarily stopped using, like this bird who set up its home in an abandoned car wing mirror! When our lives return to normal, they will move away again.
But don’t let down your guard! We’ll soon be coming out of lockdown, so let’s learn how to make sure we tread softly when we go back to these places. Go steady on the gas when you get back behind the wheel, and make sure you protect the animals which have been using our roads freely for almost two months.
Let’s get back to seeing nature, let’s be curious, but let’s also be discreet. We’re all desperate for a break in the country, a walk in the forest, a trip to the mountains or by the sea; we can’t wait to get moving outside and let off some steam. But here again, why not take some time to observe what’s around you? Especially if you’re in familiar territory. If you know what to look for, there are clues wherever you go. In some cities, noise pollution has decreased so dramatically that birds can communicate more easily, as Dr Elizabeth Derryberry of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, explains in this article. For most of the species that breed in the spring, the pandemic has been a blessing. Wild flora has also made the most of the lockdown by flowering more than usual. Now is a great time to go out and see it, and try to learn more about it.
Anyone can be an ambassador for nature, through citizen science! The idea behind the concept is that the general public can improve scientists’ knowledge of biodiversity by collecting and sharing observations. Whether you’re a beginner, an enthusiast or an expert, there is a programme to suit you. The OPEN (Observatoires Participatifs des Espèces et de la Nature) citizen science website lists all the initiatives that are taking place in France, but there are others in English-speaking countries too. We’re French here at Fanatura, but we like keeping up with what’s happening elsewhere in world! Here some of our favourites:
And there are plenty more. Why not tell us about your own experiences, and share some of the best initiatives you’ve heard about?
Translated from French by Ruth Simpson
(www.wordharmony.fr)
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Naturalist explorer: a dream job. The name alone sparks intrigue!
At a time when most people were only familiar with local cows, meadows, woods and game, others were travelling to the ends of the earth to study biodiversity.
People have always been fascinated by the world around them. In all civilisations throughout history, the study of flora, which is easier to observe than fauna, has attracted enlightened botanists, who created gardens full of medicinal and aromatic plants and remarkable herbaria. But
it was the Enlightenment period that really brought natural sciences to the fore. Following Diderot and d’Alembert with their encyclopaedia of knowledge, Buffon, Jussieu, Réaumur, Linné, Lamarck and many others laid the foundations for collecting and classifying various species.
In 1793, the Jardin du Roi founded by Louis XIII officially became the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, France’s first natural history museum. Among other things, it used to organise lessons on how to collect, preserve and ship natural history objects. And the naturalist explorer was born. Throughout the nineteenth century, a new brand of adventurer set out on long scientific expeditions funded by the institution. Those who survived forged extraordinary paths for themselves.
Alcide was 23 years old when on 31 July 1826, he climbed on board La Meuse, a vessel owned by the French navy, which would take him from Brest to Rio de Janeiro. He left his loved ones behind without knowing if he would ever see them again, but his thirst for knowledge and the responsibility of his mission spurred him on. The brilliant student received some wise advice from his renowned masters: Cuvier, Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, Blainville, and Humboldt.
After two months spent crossing the ocean, Alcide d’Orbigny finally moored on the coast of South America, which had recently been freed from the shackles of its Iberian colonists. Then began a fabulous journey lasting almost eight years, during which he crossed Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia.
He specialised in palaeontology and devoted his life to the subject. He came across plenty of fossils but had to keep his eyes open for all kinds of living things on behalf of the museum. As a botanist, zoologist, ornithologist, entomologist and anthropologist, he spent his days hunting, collecting, observing, describing, listing and drawing every species he discovered… an unstoppable force for nature! He developed a very strong interest in palm trees, and his contributions on the subject would be incredibly valuable.
During his life, Alcide d’Orbigny described more than 3,000 species, including 2,500 which had never been recorded before. His paleontological collection, which he submitted to the French national natural history museum, is estimated to contain a total of 100,000 specimens from 14,000 species*.
Life was rough for naturalist explorers. On inland expeditions, d’Orbigny would sometimes venture so far into the tropical jungle that fever threatened to take his life on more than one occasion. The political instability of the emerging countries also took him straight into ethnic guerrilla warfare. Ocean crossings were extremely dangerous, and ships not always in good condition. But Alcide was determined and seemed to have his very own guardian angel. He showed such devotion to his work that wherever he went, people were charmed by his charisma and kindness. Already a conscientious Latin scholar, he quickly mastered Spanish and Portuguese. He also learned Guarani from the Indian communities with whom he spent nearly a year. At the end of his trip, he could speak all the dialects of the tribes he encountered.
« El Naturalista », as he became known, made a fine reputation for himself.
He was welcomed with open arms wherever he went.
Alongside his official mission, he helped farmers diversify their production, reorganise their land, and preserve over-farmed species. He had long understood that varied and integrated agriculture had a brighter future than intensive single-crop farming. And that was back in 1830…
On his return to France after seven years and seven months, Alcide received a hero’s welcome from his relatives and colleagues. People couldn’t wait to hear his stories. His vast collections, precise notes, detailed drawings and high-quality sketches astonished the museum’s academics.
He received lavish praise, and the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre Royal de la Légion d’Honneur. And all at just 32 years old. He immediately began writing about his trip to America and his account took fourteen years to complete.
L’Homme américain (the American man) was published in 1839, to huge acclaim. The work is an ethnological, sociological, linguistic and statistical study on the various Indian peoples that the naturalist encountered. He introduces his work with the following sentence: “Nous commencerons
par déclarer que notre conviction intime est que, parmi les hommes, il n’y a qu’une seule et même espèce”, stating that his firm belief was that among men, there is just one species.
He then moved to Paris with his younger brother, Charles-Henry d’Orbigny, a brilliant doctor with a keen interest in geology, who spent his time studying natural sciences. They even lived in Place de la Contrescarpe, just a few steps from the museum. While Alcide continued studying palaeontology there using fossils that were arriving from all over Europe, his brother began penning his life’s work: le Dictionnaire universel d’histoire naturel (the universal dictionary of natural history). It is one
of the most outstanding achievements of the time in terms of scientific synthesis, but also of popularisation. A first edition appeared in 1849: 13 volumes + 288 plates of unparalleled quality
thus far in the 19th century.
Photography was still experimental, and illustrators were popular. Drawings by Alcide and his colleagues appeared in that first edition by artists who have since been forgotten. Birds drawn by Edouard Traviès, batrachians depicted by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre, fish by Achille Valenciennes,
Charles Plumier and Jacques Christophe Werner… what a collection of talent!
At a time when the only living things people knew about were their local cows, meadows, woods and game, the d’Orbigny brothers were able to reveal its vast range of wonders with the entire world. Let’s show our gratitude and share their enthusiasm.
On Friday 22 May it’s World Biodiversity Day, so why not choose your favourite naturalist drawing and to share it with us in the comments below this article? It’s easy to find them online, but if you need a little inspiration, why not take a look at our Pinterest account? We keep it updated regularly.
Let’s keep on surprising ourselves!
* Wikipédia.
Translated from French by Ruth Simpson
(www.wordharmony.fr)
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Further reading (bibliography)
Brygoo, Raoul. Alcide d’Orbigny (1802-1857). Paris : Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, 1995. Document non publié.
Fischer, Paul. « Notice sur la vie et les travaux d’Alcide d’Orbigny ». Bulletin de la Société géologique de France. 1878, vol. 6, pp. 434-453.
Gioda, Alain & Roux, Jean-Claude. « Alcide d’Orbigny, voyageur ». Pour la Science. 2002, n° 296, pp. 68-74.
Laurent, Goulven. « Orbigny, Alcide d’, 1802-1857 » in Tort, Patrick, dir. Dictionnaire du Darwinisme et de l’Évolution. Paris : PUF, 1996. Vol. 3.
Legré-Zaidline, Françoise. Voyage en Alcidie. Paris : Boubée, 1977.
Legré-Zaidline, Françoise. Alcide Dessalines d’Orbigny (1802-1857). Paris : l’Harmattan, 2002.
Taquet, Philippe, dir. Alcide d’Orbigny. Paris : Muséum national d’histoire naturelle & Nathan, 2002.
Interview with Laurier Street, street artist.
Hello Laurier, thanks so much for agreeing to join us for the third edition of Fanatalk: a conversation between nature enthusiasts.
You are a street artist, and we absolutely love your collages of animals with their imaginative decorations. It makes a nice change from the hyper-realistic or fantasy-style animals that you see most of the time…
L.S. Yes, I add some personal touches by decorating them with swirls and patterns. People have displaced nature in recent years and my intention is to bring them back into the urban environment, but in a different way. That’s why I use the tagline “Animals are moving to the city.”
L.S. I have been drawing for years and I’m always scribbling swirls and patterns in my notebooks. I love to draw but I never thought my work would see the light of day. Last year I had a tour around Lisbon looking at the street art there with a specialist guide. I was struck by the way she presented the art works and I discovered the collage technique, which involves cutting out a drawing and pasting it outdoors on the street.
Where street art was concerned, I was more familiar with graffiti. I was struck by the idea of the collage because it was fairly similar to what I was already doing. I also found out that there were quite a few girls who were using this technique, and that it wasn’t necessarily a field only for men. I thought why don’t I try that too? I started with a small drawing of an octopus because it had a feeling of movement that I liked.
L.S. That’s right! Being from Marseille, I have a real soft spot for sea creatures, especially the ones that live in theMediterranean. So I pasted up one drawing and I thought it was fun, I liked it. Getting outside rather than being stuck alone at home with my drawing pad, and sticking up my works in the street art districts of Marseille meant that I could come into contact with people and I began trying my hand at slightly larger formats. That’s how it all started.
L.S. At the end of the summer in 2019 I pasted up my first animal. It’s quite refreshing to draw animals and talk to people passing by, children and adults alike… It makes them smile when they see a small fish on their way to work in the morning!
I think that’s my new passion, it’s fulfilling and I meet lots of people. At first I was quite reluctant to paste my art works in broad daylight with my face uncovered, so I hid under my hood. I would go out pasting up my work in the evening; and then I realised that when I displayed my art spontaneously, on a Sunday afternoon for example, people would come and talk to me, ask me questions… As a result, I developed my collages: I talked about doing larger formats but I also brought in colour, which makes the animals even more alive. I then started having articles about me in the Marseille press, in the street art guide, it’s been really nice.
L.S. I took the opportunity to work on more drawings, which of course I couldn’t wait to get out and paste up! But it was above all a chance for me to sit down and do some research. For example I worked on adding a layer of watercolour to my drawings or started writing down all my ideas for the future. When the lockdown measures were eased, I was more than ready to bring out my work and share it in the street.
L.S. Indeed, I am completely self-taught, I have never taken any lessons and these spiral techniques come straight out of my imagination, even my unconscious mind. I go into a kind of semi-hypnosis when I draw, it’s actually quite relaxing. Lately I have done my own testing with watercolours, and the results have sometimes been surprising! I studied town planning, and I have always loved city streets. That’s what really drove me outside and made me want to represent the city in a different way with my animals.
L.S. My approach is different: I’m a big fan of French rap, which involves a very literary element.All the captions for my drawings come from the rappers I admire and always quote, and they allow me to combine my two passions. That flower is a special project: I have a Canadian friend who writes poems and as we both appreciate what the other creates, we decided to do a mini collaboration combining words and images to add another dimension to the drawing.
L.S. Yes I probably need that, and it’s true, street art involves breaking the rules:pasting my work on walls is semi-illegal. But I don’t want to do anyone any harm, I just want to express myself on the street. I have always been an introvert, so I draw enormous strength from producing my drawings in complete freedom. Animals are also a symbol of the freedom to move, to swim, or to go wherever they like. We humans are more limited, we are contained within our society. I also really need space, to discover my city differently, as well as other cities where I would never have been able to go. The world is opening up to me and I really want to go out and paste my drawings wherever the mood takes me!
L.S. Some drawings have been painted over by graffiti cleaners, which does make sense. But recently, even though it was during the official Grenoble Street Art festival, I was pasting a seahorse onto a wall with a member of the festival organisation team who is from Grenoble herself, and another woman threw several buckets of water from the fourth floor!
But in terms of official authorities, I choose places where my drawings cause as little disturbance as possible: I avoid new facades, certain types of stone… I only look for the positive side of street art and I respect the city.
L.S. The world of street art is going through some really interesting changes. My art is created on canvases that are lesspermanent than mosaics or paint, even though some collages have managed to resist the elements for over a year. In the Panier district in Marseille for example, street art is tolerated and the works are all still there. But the temporary nature of my work also has its charm, that’s what street art is all about.
L.S. This flower is the only one to date, but I do intend to do more exploring into the plant world. It has huge potential and I’m known as Laurier (bay leaf) so I am thinking about it. I might look at creating some climbing plants, Mediterranean plants to stay local… and for the colours too. There are definitely some wonderful ideas I’m yet to explore. It actually could be interesting to draw parallels between the wild plants that grow in an urban environment and drawings on the walls.
L.S. Yes, it is more about questioning, of arousing curiosity rather than trying to make people come on board with an idea. Street art is right there in front of you, every day. Either you walk past it without seeing it, or you look at it without necessarily interpreting it properly. It really makes me happy when people tell me that it has moved them, that they have never seen anything so pretty on the street and that my drawings have helped change their minds about graffiti and street art in general.
L.S. No, I would say it’s intergenerational. One day I was pasting up a drawing and a couple came to tell me that their two children didn’t like going to school, but since I had pasted up my drawings, they had been happy to get up and see them every morning, and check if there were any new ones. It was an exciting change of scenery for them to see a lion or a fish on their way to school! I put a lot of emotion into my work and that kind of feedback is very welcome.
I also took my grandmother with me when I pasted up some works in her neighbourhood. So every day on her way to the bakery she can walk past the bird she pasted up, and she can talk about it with her neighbours. Animals bring people together because they resonate with all generations. It is an open project, and it might not seem very “green” at first glance but it can be understood on several different levels, and if all it does is make children, parents or older smile as they pass, then I have achieved something great.
L.S. I like doing research on the subjects I draw, and that might include research on drawings of the animal or simply information from a Wikipedia page. So I came across those types of illustrations quite naturally. They have very clear, very legible lines, and they helped me a lot as I learnt to understand the shapes of different animals. I use various sources to create my own drawings, but these plates really do have a lot of charm, they are interesting graphically and historically. They’re very inspiring.
Translated from French by Ruth Simpson
(www.wordharmony.fr)
Buy:
‣ Limited edition fish screen prints
Read about her in french:
‣ La Marseillaise
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Interview with Gabrielle Baglione who manages the Charles-Alexandre Lesueur collection at Muséum d’histoire naturelle du Havre.
Hello Gabrielle, thanks so much for agreeing to join us for the fourth edition of Fanatalk: a conversation between nature enthusiasts.
You work for the natural history museum in Le Havre, and your role involves managing the Charles-Alexandre Lesueur art collection. He was a 19th-century naturalist explorer whose life and works are absolutely fascinating. He was instrumental in founding the museum after he bequeathed a huge variety of natural history specimens to his city. We are delighted to be able to learn more about him by talking to you.
G.B. I studied art history and specialised in art from Oceania. So I came across Charles-Alexandre Lesueur through his work on Voyage aux terres australes (voyage to southern lands). That is when I heard about this collection and how I came to work with it for several years. As I also studied museology, the city of Le Havre hired me to ensure that the original drawings from this collection could be made available to the public.
The expedition was commissioned by the First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and was organisedby the natural history museum in Paris in March 1800. There was very little time to prepare because the ship left Le Havre on 19 October that same year. And yet it was an extremely ambitious expedition with two main objectives:
The two ships used for the expedition were called Géographe and Naturaliste.
Nearly 100,000 samples were brought back for the purpose of recording various species. The expedition’s contribution to science, according to Georges Cuvier, exceeded the three voyages by James Cook in the Pacific that had taken place between 20 and 30 years earlier. There was a third anthropological objective that was fairly new at the time. The scientists on the expedition had received very precise instructions on how to study the natives and their social behaviour. The brand new – and very short-lived – Société des Observateurs de l’Homme therefore gave that task to the experienced captain Nicolas Baudin, who was focused on the natural sciences and botany in particular. He set off with 200 people, including about forty scientists from every field of science, around two or three for each discipline, and told them to bring back as many samples as they could.
They all knew that they may not ever return. In fact Captain Baudin himself died of tuberculosis in 1803 on what used to be called Île de France – now Mauritius – on their journey back, but the group’s thirst for discovery and desire to record the wonders of the natural world meant that they persevered.
Yes, especially because the trip took seven months just to get there, with several stopovers …In terms of physical anthropology, Georges Cuvier gave specific advice for observing humans. He explains that scientists could, if the opportunity arose, bring back human samples, but nobody did. In matters of social anthropology, directives were given by Joseph-Marie De Gérando for the observation of manners and customs. The scholars tried to follow these instructions, but it was difficult with the aboriginal groups that they sometimes met only during a stopover, during the brief time it took to map out the geography of a coastal area.
The explorers brought back 206 objects and gave them to Joséphine de Beauharnais but there is no trace of these objects. All that remains from their journey around Tasmania and continental Australia are the very precise drawings by Lesueur. They were so precise that contemporary Tasmanian artists were able to find the techniques that were used and reproduce the lost objects. Oral transmission suffered enormously during some disastrous events in Tasmanian history. The population struggled with disease and deportations due to slavery practices in parts of South Australia. Two hundred years later the people were able to move back west and the experience must have been extraordinary!
I have met several Tasmanian artists who all carry around a reproduction of a certain drawing by Lesueur, because they consider it to be fundamental in their culture. It is extremely touching and more than justifies conserving and presenting these works. There is evidence right now that the samples collected during this expedition still have a lot to tell us. I am actually working on an exhibition on that subject, involving contemporary Tasmanian objects.
It was impossible to imagine that such an expedition, so far away, would go ahead without someone keeping arecord of everything the explorers would see. Three official illustrators were therefore appointed but they got off the ship at the first stopover on the Île de France. Two other artists who were responsible for managing Captain Baudin’s personal records were then promoted: Charles-Alexandre Lesueur and his companion Nicolas Martin-Petit, who had been trained in the studio belonging to Jacques-Louis David, and who was responsible for creating the portraits of the aborigines, or les naturels as they were called at the time. Nicolas Martin-Petit died followng an accident a few months after the Géographe returned in March 1804. He was young but had been affected by the very gruelling trip. Involving tropical diseases and nutritional deficiencies, it was probably the deadliest scientific expedition of the time.
Lesueur was one of the scholars and assistants who managed to return in a healthy enough condition to take care of publishing the results officially. He handled the drawings, while the writing was entrusted to the zoologist and anthropologist François Péron. They went to Bonaparte, who at that time had become Emperor, and handed him the first ever copy of la relation du voyage de découvertes aux terres australes, which was published from 1807. The maps were printed in 1811 and constituted the first complete cartography of Australia. Moreover, many places in Australia and Tasmania bear the names of the scientists from this expedition in tribute to those that died, and the work they carried out, including Cape Lesueur. Intrigued by the French names, more and more Australians are now learning about and becoming fascinated by the history of this expedition.
Charles-Alexandre Lesueur lived in Paris with François Péron and worked on publishing his drawings. He kept the drawings with him, as well as the ones by Nicolas Martin-Petit, so he could work on them. That took a long time. There are often up to four drawings of the same individual, which can be considered preparatory studies. Charles-Alexandre Lesueur liked to work on vellum (the skins of stillborn calves), because of its smooth and even texture. The medium allowed him to produce very precise renderings and enhance his watercolours.
Weakened by pulmonary tuberculosis, which he contracted during the expedition, François Péron decided to follow advice from his doctors and spent the winter of 1809 on the Côte d’Azur. Lesueur went along with him and spent his time drawing on their journey through France. Tirelessly filling his notebooks, he would sketch landscapes, cities, local people, fauna and flora. They settled in Nice in the February. While Péron rested, Lesueur would go out on boats. He brought back several Mediterranean species, which fascinated both men, especially the samples of zoophytes and molluscs. With relentless curiosity, they would marvel at the diversity before their eyes, and with the same dedication they worked hard on describing and illustrating what they found.
Sadly François Péron eventually died of tuberculosis. But Lesueur kept going, though he decided to return home following the death of his friend.
He then split his time between Paris and Le Havre and sought to obtain an official post at the museum. In 1815, an American geologist by the name of William Maclure arrived in France to find out more about recent scientific progress. He was a rich businessman and philanthropist who spent some of his fortune on science. He suggested that the young and talented Charles-Alexandre go with him to North America to work on recording and classifying the local animal species. Lesueur jumped at the chance and signed a two-year contract. He became a correspondent for the natural history museum in Paris and a naturalist explorer once more.
The adventure lasted twenty-one years, during which he spent his time crisscrossing the Great American East. From the Canadian border to New Orleans, he covered every single state, navigating the great rivers and meticulously listing all the species he encountered, showing a particular liking for turtles and fish.
When he returned in 1837, France had been through some huge changes. Repeated political unrest had weakened the country, which was trying to bring its industry up to the level of its English rivals. His hometown of Le Havre had experienced these in-depth transformations first hand. Like some other large French cities, it established its own natural history museum, which was made possible by the collection bequeathed to it by Charles-Alexandre Lesueur. He was appointed its first director in 1845, but never managed to occupy the position because he died at the end of 1846, just before the museum opened.
We like to think that we have made him immortal! In any case we do whatever we can to keep it safe and protected for as long as possible… During the Second World War, the collection was transferred to a secure location by the curator at the time, which was a smart move. The other specimens in the museum were mostly destroyed in the bombings.
Since then, we have implemented a very strict protocol. When the specimens have been on display for three months, they are then systematically put into storage for three years of rest, protected from light. The works are restored by experts before each new exhibition. We have just published an article about this subject on our blog, you can go and read it.
G.B. Never all of it, but we did organise a large-scale travelling exhibition in 2016 with the Australian Embassy inFrance. It was called L’oeil et la main (the eye and the hand), and it retraced the journey to the southern lands. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Baudin expedition, 400 drawings by Charles-Alexandre Lesueur and Nicolas Martin-Petit were sent to Australia and Tasmania. They then went on a two-year journey to the country’s main cities: Adelaide, Launceston, Hobart, Sydney, Canberra and Perth.
G.B. Yes of course, every chance we get is an opportunity to share the wonders of the collection. This month,the Musée d’Orsay is opening a major exhibition entitled Les origines du monde – L’invention de la nature au siècle de Darwin (the origins of the world, the invention of nature in Darwin’s century). This event will take a look back on the historic upheaval of the 19th century, where science and the arts came together, and promises to be a huge success. Nine drawings from the Lesueur collection will be exhibited there.
G.B. The Australian Embassy in France is launching a programme between June and October 2021 called “Australia now France 2021”. As part of the programme, the museum will run an exhibit entitled “Australia”. Objects from both old and contemporary collections will be presented to mark the friendship between the two countries, both past and future. Visitors will be able to find out more about discoveries, encounters, environments, animals, distances, imaginary creations, etc. Some of the graphic arts collection will of course be on display during the exhibition.
G.B. It is true that the public came out of lockdown feeling frustrated and cut off from culture generally. People came rushing back to the museum when it reopened. It was so wonderful to see families return, eager to find out more about the natural sciences. The museum in Le Havre is designed for a very young audience, starting at two or three years old for some of its attractions. We always strive to design exhibitions and events that can be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
G.B. The bust you can see behind me is of Captain Nicolas Baudin.Commissioned by an association that works to protect the heritage of the voyage to the southern lands, this Australian sculpture was presented to the city of Le Havre and other key locations from the expedition. It had been installed in front of the entrance to the port from which the expedition left, and was designed to ensure that Commander Baudin was never forgotten. Unfortunately, the bust was vandalised. It will be restored over the coming years, but in the meantime it is in storage… For the moment, Nicolas Baudin will remain forgotten!
Translation from French by Ruth Simpson
(www.wordharmony.fr)
Video:
La collection Lesueur en cinq questions
French interview of Gabrielle Baglione (4 min)
Books:
Charles-Alexandre Lesueur
Peintre voyageur, un trésor oublié
Auteur : Cédric Crémière, Gabrielle Baglione
Éditeur : Editions Conti2009
Sur la côte d’Azur
Carnet de voyage de Lesueur et Péron, du Havre à Nice en 1809
Auteur : Gabrielle Baglione
Editeur : Editions Conti2009
Méduses / Jellyfish
Grand Prix du Beau-Livre 2015 de l’Académie de Marine
Auteur : Illustrations de C-A Lesueur – Textes de François Péron, Gabrielle Baglione, Cédric Crémière, Jacqueline Goy-Trabut, Stéphane Schmitt – Traduction : Judith Bentley.
Editeur : Muséum du Havre – Editions MkF2014
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Interview with Audrey Maillard, Partnerships Manager & Coco Tamlyn, Communications Manager at Coral Guardian.
Hello Audrey and Coco, thanks so much for agreeing to join us for the fifth edition of Fanatalk: a conversation between nature enthusiasts.
Along with this interview, we’re also presenting a new section on the Fanatura blog. We’re going to be sharing information about some of our favourite organisations that help to protect biodiversity. Your association rebuilds and protects coral ecosystems by getting local people involved and raising public awareness. We’re excited about looking at what happens behind the scenes at your wonderful initiative known as Coral Guardian.
A.M. It came from our founder, Martin Colognoli. He’s a marine biologist who specialises in aquariums. He originally moved to Indonesia with the aim of exporting exotic fish to Europe. He soon realised that doing that would be disastrous for the species, because very few specimens survived the journey: 8 out of 10 fish were found dead when they arrived at their destination.
This realisation changed everything. He learnt that corals were home to 25% of marine biodiversity, so he decided to co-found Coral Guardian in 2012, with the goal of preserving the habitat of a species that, until then, he had been exploiting. Several attempts were unsuccessful. Then came the Hatamin project (Pulau Hatamin Coral Sanctuary), which has been our pilot initiative since 2015. The site is located on an island northwest of Flores, near Indonesia’s Komodo National Park. As a result of our hard work, the area was officially declared a government-protected marine area in 2019.
C.T. It’s all about long-term effort. So the local population needs to be on board. The first tests that we ran in Bali showed that without the help of local residents, our actions would always come to nothing. The success of the Hatamin site is largely due to the fact that two thirds of the people who work there used to fish in that same area.
A.M. It seems impossible to believe, but yes, they used to fish with dynamite and cyanide! That meant they brought in great catches, but not for long… In fact, they had to go further and further away to find the fish. Because the village with a population of 750 people depends on fishing for its livelihood, they had to act fast. When we observed the damage, we found that the coral had been completely destroyed around their reef.
A.M. The language used to talk about coral is quite strange, because even though it’s a species of animal, we use terms that are more closely related to plant reproduction: sowing, seedlings, cuttings, etc.
C.T. There are various techniques for replanting coral. We tested several of them (ropes, ceramics, concrete, etc.), we finally decided on light metal structures that could withstand the fairly strong currents in the region. The first corals we grew there were the same as the very few that had survived from the original reef. We have always focused on replanting endemic species. With around 38,000 corals transplanted, we are now taking cuttings from the first structures.
A.M. Most of it is, yes. If the cuttings of tropical coral settle into their environment, they can develop rapidly. They grow a centimetre to a centimetre and a half every month. Results can be seen very quickly. We now have an area of rebuilt coral that extends over about two hectares.
A.M. Yes, absolutely. As this experiment has been successful for science, the environment and the local populations, we have created a programme called “Blue Center” which provides support from Coral Guardian to any organisation looking to develop its own restoration project. There is a permanent call for applications on our website. Just complete an online form. Depending on the level of urgency and the project’s feasibility, we decide whether or not to follow up on the request. Our support ranges from straightforward advice in the form of a training manual for the most independent suggestions, and financial support and monitoring over a minimum period of three years for “core projects”.
A.M. We have three solid cases in review. The most advanced project is in Malaga, Spain, where we are launching SOS Corals, the first interactive marine conservation project in the Mediterranean. This project will include different families of corals. And it’s very exciting to launch a restoration programme in Europe, close to home.
C.T. Above all, the issue we’re tackling is different because now we are fighting against pollution, the number-one problem in the Mediterranean. Our goal is to clean the seabed, educate locals and tourists, and restore the coral beds, which are a unique form of biodiversity in this area.
C.T. That is the exact cost of replanting a coral in terms of material and human resources. It also covers the studies involved, as well as operating costs for the association. However, it is not a sustainable economic model because it is a one-off donation. By definition, if people only adopt a coral once, we won’t be able to safeguard the association’s long-term future. We are therefore encouraging people to make a monthly donation of whatever amount they choose, as well as adopting a coral.
C.T. The coral adoption programme started in 2013 and it now accounts for about 30% of our funding. So these donations are absolutely essential not only from an economic point of view, but for our image. As people often adopt a coral as a gift for someone else, details about Coral Guardian’s work are shared with more and more people. It’s a great tool for raising awareness about what we do.
C.T. Each donor can give a name to the coral they adopt. The donor then receives a certificate of the donation with the GPS coordinates of the area where it will be transplanted, with a symbolic photo of a coral and a shot of the person who will handle the operation. Unfortunately, we cannot provide specific details about each individual coral we transplant, but we share information with our donors on how the area is developing through our social media accounts and our monthly newsletter.
C.T. The most recent reports drawn up by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) all state that in the space of forty years, about 40% of the world’s reefs have already disappeared. Scientists also agree that if nothing is done by 2050, almost all of them will have disappeared. The finding is worrying, but our initiative, as well as other programmes around the world, are showing that this bleak picture doesn’t have to become a reality. The only thing we know for sure is that we need to act now, and we need to act together. We know how to go about replanting coral, so with financial support we think that humankind will rise to the challenge.
A.M. Every individual and collective initiative that helps to preserve biodiversity is a small victory. As results are being published on social media, public awareness can only be improved, and behaviours to curb overconsumption will become more widespread. Once again, we can only achieve that if we all work together.
C.T. Exactly. Recently I got an email from a 12-year-old girl who lives in Lyon. She had adopted a coral and was adamant that she wanted to support us and promote our work by putting up posters around her school. And we’re receiving more and more requests like these. We have actually created a promotion kit for people like that pupil who want to do their bit. It contains various tools to help them organise a mini conference on the subject with those around them. The kit has been used by people of all ages in junior high and high schools, diving centres, youth hostels and companies. Contact us if you’d like to receive one yourself.
A.M. Yes, sometimes with incredible outcomes! A high school once organised a display booth about our work at their Christmas market. The donations they received actually funded an entire reef (€900). Reef sponsorship is also popular with companies. One of our CSR programmes takes care of requests from businesses. For individuals, coral wedding anniversaries (11 years in some countries, 35 years in others) are also a great opportunity to give a meaningful and original gift.
C.T. I was lucky enough to go last year and it was an incredible experience! What struck me most was the generosity shown by the fishing community of Seraya Besar. The people there lead simple lives, they feed themselves on the fish they catch every day, and are generous to a fault. As they are near to the Komodo National Park, there are lots of tourists in the area. There’s an English teacher in our team who gives classes to other members and at local schools. Our team can then raise awareness about the subject among tourists, and help children (the next generations) to learn how to do the same.
One of the fishermen told us that he had to stop fishing in the area five years ago and was forced to go further out to sea. Two years ago, he started fishing closer to the island, on either side of our protected marine area, which itself cannot be fished. Now he fishes as close as he can to the area, and sells the large groupers he catches there. We keep tabs on the fish population by talking to the fishing community every week. Over the last four years, the number of fish in the area has increased 30-fold. It’s a real victory!
Translation from French by Ruth Simpson
(www.wordharmony.fr)
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