This September, students from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design Innovation visited Te Papa to learn about animal illustration. Art curators Rebecca Rice and Lizzie Bisley showed them a group of artworks from across the collection. Starting with Albrecht Dürer’s 1505 engraving The large horse, the works ranged from the 16th to 20th centuries, showcasing a huge variety of styles, techniques, and approaches to representing animals. After looking at these works, the students drew their own animal illustrations in Te Papa’s Te Taiao | Nature space. Curator Art Lizzie Bisley discusses how it went.
We chose 18 artworks to show the students, mainly works on paper but also rare books. Although the works were made in different periods, and often for very different audiences, threads of connection weave across the group. A lot of the artworks were made for publication in scientific texts, or as taxonomic descriptions of different species. This ranges from JG Keulemans’ watercolour painting of a black and a red-billed gull, which was reproduced as a chromolithograph in the second edition of Walter Bullers’ History of Birds of New Zealand (1888), to Frank Edward Clarke’s beautifully detailed watercolour paintings of fish found in New Zealand waters.
A lot of the students were struck by the 1:1 scale lithograph of a moa’s foot skeleton, published in Richard Owen’s 1879 book Memoirs on the extinct wingless birds of New Zealand. Owen was an English scientist who studied fossils – and coined the name Dinosauria. He was the first European scientist to argue that a giant bird had existed in Aotearoa, after having been sent a fragment of moa bone in 1839.
At a very different scale from the moa foot, we also showed students two etchings of moths, butterflies, and caterpillars by the Anglo-Czech artist Wenceslaus Hollar (1607–77). In these miraculous prints, Hollar somehow manages to convey the different textures of moth and butterfly wings, or the vibrations of a caterpillar’s moving body. The etchings would have been sought after as curiosities, records of the wonders of the natural world.
The most recent artworks that we brought out for the students were by two British artists: Agnes Miller Parker (1895–1980) and Eileen Mayo (1906–1994). Parker’s 1930s wood etchings show animals being incorporated into human stories – including through her modern illustrations of Aesop’s fables. Eileen Mayo’s colourful linocut of two cats climbing a tree was a favourite with the students, and a beautiful example of Mayo’s skilful use of colour and line.
Course lecturer, Jelena Rukavina Vuckovic
“It’s essential to expose the students to a wide range of artistic and cultural works that can fuel their creativity and broaden their perspectives. Te Papa offers an incredible opportunity for them to engage with national treasures, art, and significant cultural artifacts, all under one roof.
The purpose of the trip was to not only to inspire our students creatively but also to help them understand the role that museums like Te Papa play in preserving and sharing our collective stories. Seeing the artworks allows the students to make connections between their own creative practices and the wider world of art, history, and culture.
For many of them, the visit was an eye-opening experience, and I believe it will have a lasting impact on their approach to their projects in School of Design Innovation. I was excited to hear directly from the students about what resonated with them and how the visit sparked new ideas. It’s always rewarding to see how different works speak to each individual.”
View some of the students’ work
From the students
“The focus on anatomical precision in animal illustration from the lecture Lizzie gave us, really struck me, made me appreciate the combination of science and art.”
“Te Papa collection of animal illustrations was incredible! It made me realised that animals can be presented in so many ways. I liked the illustration of a bear and a humanisation that was illustrated in that particular work that was shown to us.”
“I was blown away by historical illustration of the extinct animal such as Moa. It made me realise how important it is to document natural world through art and how science and art can merge and give us a complete information.”
