Feathers, Fame, and Fraud: The Story of Pauline Knip’s Les Pigeons
From The Observatory
Pauline Knip (1781–1851) was a talented natural history artist who became famous for her detailed and beautiful paintings of pigeons, even though her story is filled with controversy. Pigeons, often seen as ordinary city birds, belong to a large family with many elegant and colorful species. Knip captured their beauty in her 1811 work Les Pigeons, creating more than eighty watercolor illustrations that brought attention to their diversity and charm.
Knip trained under Jacques Barraband, a well-known bird illustrator, and quickly gained recognition for her skill. In 1808, she was commissioned by Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck to paint a series of pigeons and game birds for his book, Histoire Naturelle des Pigeons et des Gallinacés. She based her paintings on museum specimens in Paris and sketches from another naturalist, Jean-Gabriel Prêtre. Temminck lived in the Netherlands and asked Knip to supervise the printing of later installments, which gave her the opportunity to act in her own interest.
Knip altered the title pages, removed Temminck’s introduction and index, and credited herself as the author of Les Pigeons, while still acknowledging Temminck only for the text. She even dedicated the book to Empress Marie Louise, Napoleon’s second wife. Temminck only discovered the changes when he visited Paris in 1812. Although he publicly protested her plagiarism, Knip’s position as the empress’s official natural history painter meant she faced no real consequences.
Despite the scandal, Knip’s artistic skill was undeniable. She brought pigeons to life on the page, from the shimmering neck of the stock dove to the striking Mauritius blue pigeon. Her work allowed her to achieve recognition at a time when it was extremely difficult for women to gain respect in science and art. Later, she published an expanded edition of Les Pigeons, further cementing her place in natural history art. Knip’s story shows a mix of extraordinary talent, ambition, and daring, leaving a lasting mark on art history.
Read the full article “Feathers, Fame, and Fraud: The Story of Pauline Knip’s Les Pigeons” by Natalie Lawrence
🔭 This summary was human-edited with AI-assist.
