Baboon with blue face. Detail from engraving created in 1700s for French naturalist, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), from a drawing by French wildlife artist, Jacques Henri E. De Sève (). The engraving appeared in Buffon’s influential work on natural history, the 36-volume 'Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière …’, published between 1749 and 1788. This illustration, later coloured by hand, comes from the rare 1780 French edition of the ‘Histoire'.
Hand-coloured antique engraving from a drawing by the French wildlife artist and illustrator, Jacques Henri E. De Sève. It depicts a little baboon or petit papion and was created for the influential 36-volume 'Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière …’, published by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, between 1749 and 1788. This page, later tinted skilfully by hand, comes from the rare 1780 French edition of the 'Histoire'. Baboons are any of five species of large and primarily ground-living monkeys found in dry regions of Africa and Arabian Peninsula. They are some of the most identifiable of the monkey world, with tufts of hair on either side of their faces and large, hairless bottoms. Males of the largest species average 66 pounds (30kg), but females are only half this size. The swollen red bottom of a female baboon is a sign of sexual readiness, making it clear to available males that they are fertile. Jacques Henri E. De Sève () is one of the most influential natural history artists of all time. He created hundreds of animal images, many of which now seem fantastical, but an interesting feature is his inclusion of wildlife habitats; he did not merely depict animals, but rather placed them in an appropriate environment. His work was widely copied in engravings by others for later editions of Buffon's books. Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788), was a French naturalist remembered for his comprehensive work on natural history. He was appointed keeper of the Jardin du Roi (royal botanical garden) in Paris and charged with cataloguing the royal collections in natural history. He produced an account of the whole of nature, which became the 'Histoire’.
Size: 3073px × 3074px
Location: In natural habitat
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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