Paul-André Robert - Les Papillons dans La Nature

 

This weekend sees the start of the annual Big Butterfly Count in the UK (which runs until the 10th August), a national census to document the health of the nation's butterfly species. I couldn't think of a better way of celebrating the count than sharing with you these delightfully pleasing illustrations of butterflies and moths by Swiss painter and illustrator Paul-André Robert (1901-1977) which were a lovely find. They come from Robert's book Les Papillons dans La Nature (Butterflies and Moths in Nature, 1934). Robert hailed from a family of artists, his father, grandfather and great uncle were all painters, and during his lifetime published 10 books as an author, illustrator or both on natural history, specialising in the fauna and flora of Europe. Throughout the 405 pages of Les Papillons dans La Nature, the author describes the habitats, host plants, immature stages and behaviour of 64 species of European Lepidoptera (34 butterflies and more than 30 moths), each accompanied by a detailed watercolour painting, usually displaying different postures observed from life. Robert was very meticulous in his work reproducing the colours, wing patterns, morphological details and poses of each species. He stated in a letter to his editor, "as I made progress in the work of watercolours, I am increasingly impressed by the difference between the living butterfly in its natural pose (this is the pose that I always choose), and the [pinned] spread butterfly as it is usually represented. The difference is sometimes unbelievable. In front of one or another butterfly, which I know from collections or books, I am suddenly amazed when I find it alive in the pose for which it was created.” Robert's illustrations are superb paintings and really remind me of the lovely period butterfly illustrations once found on cigarette cards produced by manufacturers such as Wills (here), and the more stylised pochoir butterfly illustrations of butterflies by E A Seguy (here). Another book Robert is renowned for is Les Libellules (Odonates) (The Dragonflies, Robert, 1958), which I hope to feature in a future post. Sign up for the Big Butterfly Count in the link above and get counting.