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Savery’s Castle of Secrets

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On the Nature of Ecological Paradox

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Abstract

For nearly a decade as court painter to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (1552–1612), Belgian-born, Netherlandish painter Roelant Savery (1576–1639) produced an astonishing body of work at Rudolf’s limitless castle in Prague, particularly focused upon paradise images and an unprecedented array of life-like animal portraitures, including several of the Dodo, arguably painted from life. The relationship between Rudolf and Savery, and that of the Dodo and its eventual iconic extinction, poses an insoluble mystery, ever tragic, and almost formulaic with respect to humanity’s paradoxical relationship with birds, and Nature in general.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See https://artist.christies.com/Roelandt-Savery%2D%2D43142.aspx, Accessed April 25, 2020.

  2. 2.

    See RKD, https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/466467, Accessed April 25, 2020. See also, Zoology in Early Modern Culture: Intersections of Science, Theology, Philology, and Political and Religious Education, Chapter 10, “Exotic Animal Painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Roelant Savery, by Marrigje Rikken, pp. 401–433, Brill, Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2014, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004279179_011, Accessed May 1, 2020. Series: Intersections, Volume: 32, Editors: Karl A. E. Enenkel and Paul J. Smith. https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004279179/B9789004279179_012.xml.

  3. 3.

    See “The Explorations of Emperor Rudolf II,” by Jeff Michael Hammond, The Japan Times/Culture, a review of ”The Empire of Imagination and Science of Ruldolf II” at the Bunkamura Museum of Art, www.bunkamura.co.jp/museum, January 23, 2018, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2018/01/23/arts/explorations-emperor-rudolf-ii/#.Xp9yB9NKi-s, Accessed April 24, 2020. The review features Savery’s painting of “Orpheus Playing to the Animals,” (1625) from the National Gallery in Prague, a painting that seems to sum up the artist’s own sense of passing time: the castle has become a ruin, and the parliament of animals is missing one in particular, the Dodo, whose living reality would appear to have been all but eclipsed. See also, “Federico Borromeo as a Patron of Landscapes and Still Lifes: Christian Optimism in Italy ca. 1600,” by Pamela M. Jones, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 70, No. 2, June, 1988, pp. 261–272, Published by CAA, DOI: 10.2307/3051119, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3051119, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3051119?seq=1, Accessed June 18, 2020.

  4. 4.

    See The Saint Louis Art Museum, “Forest With Deer,” by Savery, 1608–1610, https://www.slam.org/collection/objects/974/. Accessed April 25, 2020.

  5. 5.

    “First Zoo in Europe,” by Miroslav Bobek, March 30, 2015, https://www.zoopraha.cz/en/about-zoo/news/director-s-view/9130-first-zoo-in-europe, Accessed April 24, 2020.

  6. 6.

    See Zoo: A History of Zoological Gardens in the West, by Eric Baratay and Elisabeth Hardouin-Fugier, Reaktion Books, London 2004, p. 62, https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/Z/bo3535747.html, Accessed April 24, 2020.

  7. 7.

    See Oudry’s Painted Menagerie: Portraits of Exotic Animals in Eighteenth-Century Europe, edited by Mary Morton, Getty Publications, Los Angeles, 2007, p. 138. https://books.google.com/books/about/Oudry_s_Painted_Menagerie.html?id=lxdHAgAAQBAJ.

  8. 8.

    See Hollstein’s Dutch And Flemish Etchings, Engravings And Woodcuts, CA. 1450–1700, Volumes XXI and XXII Aegidius Sadeler To Raphael Sadeler II, Plates, Compiled by Dieuwke De Hoop Scheffer, Edited by K. G. Boon, Van Gendt & Co., Amsterdam, 1980, The Netherlands.

  9. 9.

    See RKD, https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/Savery%2C%20Roelant, Accessed April 24, 2020.

  10. 10.

    http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/402/roelandt-savery-flemish-1576-1639/.

  11. 11.

    De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen (The Great Theatre of Dutch Painters) 1718, https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/houb005groo01_01/houb005groo01_01_0027.php Accessed April 24, 2020. See also, “Rudolf II,” in Impossible Objects, “Fragments,” by R. J. W. Evans, [A fascinating Gestalt of Rudolf’s life and times] http://www.impossibleobjectsmarfa.com/fragments-2/rudolf-ii, Accessed April 24, 2020.

  12. 12.

    See “Roelandt Savery: a painter in the services of Emperor Rudolf II,” Exhibition: 8 December 2010 – 20 March 2011, CODART, https://www.codart.nl/guide/agenda/roelandt-savery-a-painter-in-the-services-of-emperor-rudolf-ii/. Accessed April 24, 2020.

  13. 13.

    A Rich Cultural History: Prague and Rudolf II,” by Erin Naillon, February 24, 2017, https://cz.cityspy.network/prague/features/rudolf-ii-prague/. Accessed April 24, 2020.

  14. 14.

    See “Rudolf II’s ‘Wunderkammer’ and fascination with the exotic,” by Damian Brenninkmeyer, April 6, 2017, Dorotheum Blog, https://blog.dorotheum.com/en/rudolf-ii-wunderkammer/Accessed April 24, 2020. See also, Alchemy Of The Gift: Things And Material Transformations At The Court Of Rudolf II, by Ivana Horacek, University of British Columbia Theses and Dissertations, 2015. https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0166243, Accessed April 24, 2020.

  15. 15.

    See “Holy Ronan Emperor Rudolf II – 1576–1612,” Holy Roman Empire Association ©, n.a., http://www.holyromanempireassociation.com/holy-roman-emperor-rudolf-ii.html, Accessed April 24, 2020.

  16. 16.

    See “The private Museum (Kunstkammer) of Rudolf II,” by René Zandbergen, 2018, http://www.voynich.nu/extra/inventory.html, Accessed April 24, 2020.

  17. 17.

    See “The Art, Science sand Lechery of Rudolf II,” by Jane Perlez, The New York Times, June 4, 1997, https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/04/arts/the-art-science-and-lechery-of-rudolf-ii.html. Accessed April 24, 2020. See Peter H. Wilson, Europe’s Tragedy: A New History of the Thirty Years War, Penguin, London, 2010. See also, “Researchers Catalogue the Grisly Deaths of Soldiers in then Thirty Years’ War,” by Jason Daley, Smithsonian Magazine, June 6, 2017, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-catalogue-grisly-deaths-soldiers-thirty-years-war-180963531/, [Imagery of newly uncovered mass graves.] Accessed April 25, 2020.

  18. 18.

    See William Buchanan, Memoirs of Painting, with a Chronological History of the Importation of Pictures of Great Masters into England by the Great Artists since the French Revolution, Ackermann, London, 1824. See also, Catalogue des tableaux flamands du cabinet de feu S.A.R. Mgr le duc d’Orléans, noted by Louis Courajod, Le livre-journal de Laurent Duvaux Paris, 1873. See also, Nicholas Penny, National Gallery Catalogues (new series): The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, Volume II, Venice 1540–1600, National Gallery Publications Ltd, London, UK, 2008.

  19. 19.

    See Errol Fuller, Extinct Birds, Oxford University Press, Oxford UK, pp. 156–163.

  20. 20.

    See also, https://www.si.edu/object/martha-passenger-pigeon:siris_sic_11640 See the short, re-created and heartbreaking, “From Billions to None,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdFC7QfuVTA.

  21. 21.

    See Turner On Birds: A Short And Succinct History Of The Principal Birds Noticed By Pliny And Aristotle, First Published By Doctor William Turner, 1544, Edited With Introduction, Translation, Notes, And Appendix, by A. H. Evans, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1903. For current revision, see George F. Barrowclough, Joel Cracraft, John Klicka, Robert M. Zink. How Many Kinds of Birds Are There and Why Does It Matter? PLOS ONE, 2016; 11 (11): e0166307 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0166307; “New Study Doubles the Estimate of Bird Species in the World,” American Museum of Natural History Press release, December 12, 2016, https://www.amnh.org/about/press-center/new-study-doubles-the-estimate-of-bird-species-in-the-world.

  22. 22.

    Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, With 42 Illustrations by John Tenniel, Macmillan and Co.. Limited, 1898, p. 28. See the fascinating essay, “Establishing extinction dates – the curious case of the Dodo Raphus cucullatus and the Red Hen Aphanapteryx bonasia,” by Anthony S. Cheke, in Ibis, International Journal of Avian Science, 19 January 2006, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.200600478.x http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.200600478.x; See also, Return of the Crazy Bird – The Sad, Strange Tale Of The Dodo, by Clara Pinto-Correia, who writes, “The dodo didn’t have a clue when it came to fleeing hungry sailors who enjoyed feasting on its abundant meat. These sailors named it doudo, or crazy….Copernicus Books, Springer Verlag New York, 2003. See also, Lost Land of the Dodo: An Ecological History of Mauritius, Réunion & Rodrigues, by Anthony S. Cheke and Julian Pender Hume, A&C Black, London 2008, https://books.google.com/books/about/Lost_Land_of_the_Dodo.html?id=RUjCAwAAQBAJ, Accessed April 24, 2020.

  23. 23.

    For a superb general survey of great ornithological masterpieces, beginning with the Paleolithic, and with Egyptian hieroglyphics, and concluding with a section devoted to the “The Modern Bird,” selections by Paul Klee, Lucian Freud and others see The Bird in Art, by Caroline Buger, Merrell Publishers, London/New York, 2012.

  24. 24.

    Saunder and Otley, London 1837.

  25. 25.

    See Birds and People, by Mark Cocker, Photographs by David Tipling. Jonathan Cape, London, 2013, p. 186.

  26. 26.

    See IUCN 2016. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.Version 2016-3: www.iucnredlist.org/pdflink.115131842.

  27. 27.

    …Or the History, Affinities, and Osteology of the Dodo, Solitaire, and Other Extinct Birds of the Islands Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Bourbon, Reeve, Benham, and Reeve, London, 1848.

  28. 28.

    See Herbert’s Travels, p. 347, WellCome Library, https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b20663705#?m=0&cv=358&c=0&s=0&z=-0.6843%2C-0.079%2C2.3685%2C1.5801, Accessed April 25, 2020.

  29. 29.

    See “The history of the Dodo Raphus cucullatus and the penguin of Mauritius,” by Julian P. Hume, Historical Biology, 2006; 18(2): 65–89, Taylor & Francis, http://julianhume.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/History-of-the-dodo-Hume.pdf. See also, Roeland Savery 1576–1639, Museum Voor Schnone Kunsten, Gent, 10 April – 13 Juni 1954, Image #s 75 and 107; and see Roelant Savery, Die Gemälde Mit Kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, by Kurt J. Müllenmeister, Luca Verlag Freren, Düsseldorf, 1998, “Landschaft mit Vögeln (Wiener Dodo) Kupfer 42 x 57, Roelandt Savery FE, 1628,” p. 268; See also, Roelandt Savery, 1576–1639, Filippe De Potter, Isabelle De Jaegere, Olga Kotkova, Stefan Bartilla and Joaneath Spicer, Published by Gent Snoeck, 2010; and L’odyssée Des Animaux, Les Peintres Animaliers Flamands Du XVIIIE Siècle, Sandrine Vézilier-Dussart, Snoeck, Gent 2016. See also A. S. Cheke, “The legacy of the dodo – conservation in Mauritius,” Oryx, 21 (1): 29–36, 1987, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300020457; Anthony S. Cheke, “The Dodo’s last island,” 2004, Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Mauritius.

  30. 30.

    “P610.1111/j.1474-919X.200600478.x-002910, mount, no date or locality.

  31. 31.

    See “Extinct and nearly extinct birds in the collections of the National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic,” by Jirí Mlíkovský, Department of Zoology, National Museum (NMP), Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series Vol. 181 (9): 95–123. © Národní museum, Praha, Czech Republic 2012, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jiri_Mlikovsky2/publication/2724900549_Extinct_and_nearly_extinct_birds_in_the_collections_of_the_National_Museum_Prague_Czech_Republic/links/54c61ada0cf277664ff2d3ea.pdf; See also, 338 Bull. B.O.C. 2003 123A Extinct and endangered (“E&E”) birds: a proposed list for collection catalogues by M. P. Adams, J.H.Cooper and N.J. Collar, http://www.scricciolo.com/extinct_endangered_list.pdf. See also http://www.thriftbooks.com/w/lost-animals-extinctions-and-the-photographic-record/9415316/. And https://books.google.com/books/about/Extinct_Birds.html?id=z7RIAkGw0-UC. See also, Anwar Janoo, “Discovery of isolated dodo bones [Raphus cucullatus (L.) Aves, Columbiformes] from Mauritius cave shelters highlights human predation, with a comment on the status of the family Raphidae, Wetmore, 1930. Annales de Paléontologie 91: pp. 167–180. See also, David L. Roberts and Andrew R. Solow, “Flightless birds: When did the dodo become extinct?” Nature 425 (6964), 2003.

  32. 32.

    See A Gap in Nature – Discovering The World’s Extinct Animals, by Tim Flannery and Peter Schouten, Text Publishing, Melbourne, Australia 2001, pp. 4–5.

  33. 33.

    ibid., p. 4.

  34. 34.

    Extinct Birds, Errol Fuller, Oxford University Press, Oxford UK 2000, p. 146.

  35. 35.

    Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana, 2012.

  36. 36.

    ibid, pp. 186–189.

  37. 37.

    ibid. 189.

  38. 38.

    ibid. p. 189.

  39. 39.

    See https://www.timelineindex.com/content/view/3185, Accessed April 25, 2020.

  40. 40.

    See ibid. pp. 180, 186.

  41. 41.

    ibid., p. 183.

  42. 42.

    ibid. pp. 182, 189.

  43. 43.

    See “A new lease of life for the dead dodo,” by Robin McKie, January 15, 2011, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jan/16/dodo-painting-natural-history-museum, Accessed April 22, 2020.

  44. 44.

    ibid., Fuller, p. 170.

  45. 45.

    ibid., pp. 194–203.

  46. 46.

    See NBC News, “When did the dodo go extinct? Maybe later than we thought,” by Douglas Main, October 9, 2013, https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/when-did-dodo-go-extinct-maybe-later-we-thought-8C11361418, Accessed April 22, 2020.

  47. 47.

    ibid., p. 200.

  48. 48.

    See “Dodos in Mughal court,” by Onu Tareq, September 15, 2019, in which is discussed a report of “two Dodos brought to the city of Surat (Gujarat)” by sailors between 1628 and 1633. The Business Standard, https://tbsnews.net/feature/travel/dodos-mughal-court, Accessed April 22, 2020.

  49. 49.

    The De Bry collection of voyages (1590–1634): editorial strategy and the representations of the overseas world, Michiel van Groesen, The University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2007, https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/3960216/47113_Groesen_compleet.pdf.

  50. 50.

    op. cit., Fuller, pp. 194–203.

  51. 51.

    London, 1907, pp. 172–174, Plates 24, 24a–c.

  52. 52.

    Reeve, Benham, and Reeve, London 1848. It should be pointed out that in Return of the Crazy Bird – The Sad, Strange Tale Of The Dodo, by Clara Pinto-Correia suggests that by the mid-1800s (the 1848 Strickland book, The Dodo and Its Kindred, there were only “five” “dodo oil paintings” known to exist. Copernicus Books, Imprint of Springer Verlag New York, 2003, p. 151.

  53. 53.

    The most complete record, to date, of Roelant Savery’s oeuvre is that of Kurt J. Müllenmeister’s Roelant Savery, Kortrijk 1576–1639 Utrecht, Hofmaler Kaiser Rudolf II. In Prag, Die Gemälde Mit Kritischem Oeuvrekatalog, Luca Verlag Freren 1988. Additionally, there is the Praag, Národni galerie, Kortrijk, Broelmuseum exhibition catalogue from 8 December 2010–10 March 2011, and 21 April 2011 – 11 September 2011, Roelandt Savery 1576–1639. Broelmuseum Kortrijk, Snoeck. In addition, Roelandt Savery 1576-–1639, Museum Voor Schone Kunsten, Gent, 10 April – 13 Juni 1954; and Roeland Savery, Kataloog, Herdenking, Tentoonstelling Georganizeerd Naar Aanleiding Van De 400ste Verjaardag Van De Geboorte Van De Kunstschilder, 25 April 7 Juni 1976, Stedelijk Museum Voor Schone Kunsten, Kortrijk.

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    Michael Charles Tobias & Jane Gray Morrison

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Tobias, M.C., Morrison, J.G. (2021). Savery’s Castle of Secrets. In: On the Nature of Ecological Paradox. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64526-7_59

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