| 約翰·詹姆斯·奧杜邦 | |
|---|---|
約翰·詹姆斯·奧杜邦
| |
| 出生 | 1785年4月26日 法屬聖多明哥 萊凱[1] |
| 逝世 | 1851年1月27日（65歲） 美國紐約曼哈頓 |
| 國籍 | 美國 |
| 職業 | 畫家、博物學家、鳥類學家 |
| 簽名 | |
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生平[編輯]
奧杜邦出生於海地，是一位法國船長和他的法國情婦的私生子[2]，幼年的奧杜邦一直隨繼母生活在法國。1803年，也即奧杜邦18歲那年，為逃避拿破侖帝國的兵役，他移民美國，來到美國的奧杜邦很快就被廣袤的北美大陸和豐富多彩的美洲鳥類所吸引，他把全部時間都投入到美國的原野，終日忙於觀察和繪製鳥類，在此期間，他的生活完全依靠妻子露西做家庭教師的收入。不過他對自然的痴迷卻嚴重地影響了他的家庭生活，令他和妻子之間產生了裂痕。在奧杜邦34歲那年，他被法院宣布破產，妻子亦離他而去，這段時期是奧杜邦一生中最為低潮的時候。
1826年，奧杜邦攜帶著他的畫稿來到英國倫敦，在這裡他聯繫出版商印製了他的第一幅鳥類繪畫〈野火雞〉。從此之後的12年中，一幅又一幅精美的鳥類圖畫從奧杜邦的筆下和印刷機下飛出，直到他的成名巨著《美國鳥類》正式出版，這時的奧杜邦和他的鳥類繪畫作品已經得到人們廣泛的認同。
1840年，55歲的奧杜邦再次拿起畫筆走進自然，開始繪製《美洲的四足動物》（Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America），1848年，這部巨著繪製完成。三年後的1851年，奧杜邦逝世了。
John James Audubon was born Jean Rabin in Les Cayes, Saint-Domingue (later Haiti) on this day in 1785.
"I took down my portfolio, to select a drawing to copy in oil. He had never seen my works before, and appeared astonished as his eyes ranged over the sheets. He expressed the warmest admiration, and said, "How hopeless must be the task of my giving any instruction to one who can draw like this?" I pointed out to him that nature is the great study for the artist, and assured him that the reason why my works pleased him was because they are all exact copies of the works of God, — who is the great Architect and perfect Artist; and impressed on his mind this fact, that nature indifferently copied is far superior to the best idealities."
--from "The Life and Adventures of John James Audubon, the Naturalist" (1868)
--from "The Life and Adventures of John James Audubon, the Naturalist" (1868)
This unprecedented anthology of John James Audubon’s lively and colorful writings about the American wilderness reintroduces the great artist and ornithologist as an exceptional American writer, a predecessor to Thoreau, Emerson, and Melville. Audubon’s award-winning biographer, Richard Rhodes, has gathered excerpts from his journals, letters, and published works, and has organized them to appeal to general readers. Rhodes’s unobtrusive commentary frames a wide range of selections, including Audubon’s vivid “bird biographies,” correspondence with his devoted wife, Lucy, journal accounts of dramatic river journeys and hunting trips with the Shawnee and Osage Indians, and a generous sampling of brief narrative episodes that have long been out of print—engaging stories of pioneer life such as “The Great Pine Swamp,” “The Earthquake,” and “Kentucky Barbecue on the Fourth of July.” Full-color reproductions of sixteen of Audubon’s stunning watercolor illustrations accompany the text. THE AUDUBON READER allows us to experience Audubon’s distinctive voice directly and provides a window into his electrifying encounter with early America: with its wildlife and birds, its people, and its primordial wilderness. READ more here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/…/the-audubon-reader-by…/
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