Louis Renard’s “Fanciful Fish”
 
I came across this work when I was looking for vintage art to
digitize for my embroidery machine … what little I read about
him absolutely fascinated me …
 
Louis Renard (c1678-1746) was a publisher in Holland  who
also sold medicines, brokered English bonds and if that wasn’t
enough he was also a spy for the British Crown under Queen Anne,
George I and George II and he didn’t try to hide that fact either …
he openly used it to his advantage.
 
Samuel Fallours was the artist commissioned by the Dutch East
India Company to document the marine life in the east indies
waters … various people brought his art to Louis Renard to publish
between 1708 and 1715.   Well this is where the story gets
interesting … Renard felt compelled to embellish them  and
added to some of the fish:  hearts, moons, stars, suns and even
a potted plant and a human face … and embellished the colors as well …
 
Renard published a 2 volume collection of Fallours’ art …
a total of 460 engraved illustrations, printed
from a hundred copper plates, 415 fish, 41 crustaceans,
two stick-insects, one Indian
dugong and one mermaid.
 
Well this story only gets stranger …  Fallours mentions other
eyebrow-raising facts. In the description of the Sambia or
frog fishes  he claims: ‘I kept the animal for
three days in my house: it followed me everywhere, just like a
small dog.’ And of the mermaid mentioned before
is written that she was caught on the isle of Boeroe or Buru near
Ambon. In Fallours’ house the mermaid had lived for four days,
and seven hours in a container of water. With regular intervals
she squeaked like a mouse. Finally she died of starvation because
she refused to eat ...  you gotta love it
 
Well the icing on the cake was after Renard published the 2 volume collection
of all this information the public reaction was severely critical
… but I am glad he did it because it makes me wonder if he
 had not done all this would we even be aware of this
interesting collection.
 
There is loads of information online about all this and each site
seems to offer some interesting tidbit as well …
 
These designs mean so much to me.  To digitize art that is over
300 years old is so rewarding …    

Louis Renard Fanciful Fish

Items: 150 of 50, per page
SKU Product name   Price    
10000006006 RMG633 perche de la rique plate 8
  • $10.00
10000006017 RMG3878 monster fish, plate 185
  • $10.00
10000006018 RMG3836 berg-visch plate 110
  • $10.00
10000006020 RMG3825 Turbot de la Cote Poepoes plate178
  • $10.00
10000006019 RMG3813 stethojulis plate 50
  • $10.00
10000006022 RMG3437 klip-visch plate 61
  • $10.00
10000006023 RMG3432 poisson des roches plate 236
  • $10.00
10000006024 RMG3336 KlipVvisch de Baguewall plate 101
  • $10.00
10000006025 RMG3335 iacob everse plate 36
  • $10.00
10000006026 RMG3334 klip-vischje plate 71
  • $10.00
10000006027 RMG3286 kakatoe plate 95
  • $10.00
10000006028 RMG3273 alforeese plate 85
  • $10.00
10000006029 RMG3189 caffertie plate 197
  • $10.00
10000006030 RMG3154 klip-nonnetje plate 88
  • $10.00
10000006031 RMG3153 harang d'amboine plate 192
  • $10.00
10000006033 RMG3152 tomtombo dore plate 227
  • $10.00
10000006034 RMG3145 maan-visch plate 138
  • $10.00
10000006035 RMG3120 klip-visch plate 41
  • $10.00
10000006036 RMG3101 chietse-visch plate 239
  • $12.00
10000006051 RMG2933 t. Hartje plate 11
  • $12.00
10000006053 RMG2913 lakaytie ​plate 174
  • $10.00
10000006021 RMG2907 Keyser van Iajan plate 238
  • $15.00
10000006052 RMG2906 macolor plate 30
  • $10.00
10000006032 RMG2905 color sousounam plate 106
  • $10.00
10000006009 RMG2902 klip vischje plate 74
  • $10.00
10000006008 RMG2884 ican banda plate 6
  • $10.00
10000006007 RMG2853 marquille plate 45
  • $10.00
10000006048 RMG285 douwing baronne plate 152
  • $10.00
10000006004 RMG284 lip-visch de loeven plate 16
  • $10.00
10000006046 RMG283 casu-casu plate 123
  • $10.00
10000006045 RMG282 harlequin plate 102
  • $10.00
10000006044 RMG281 saag-visch plate 158
  • $10.00
10000006043 RMG280 poupou noble plate 7
  • $10.00
10000006042 RMG279 petit tomtombo plate 148
  • $10.00
10000006041 RMG278 klip vischje plate 5
  • $10.00
10000006040 RMG277 nonne de baguewal plate 46
  • $10.00
10000006039 RMG276 spits-beck plate 84
  • $10.00
10000006038 RMG275 douwing-admiral plate 17
  • $10.00
10000006037 RMG274 saal-visch plate 45
  • $10.00
10000006548 RMG1213 Cornuto au le Cornu Plate 94
  • $10.00
10000006547 RMG1212 Ican Honimo Plate 119
  • $10.00
10000006546 RMG1211 Douwing Contesse Plate 86
  • $10.00
10000006545 RMG1210 Douwing Reine Plate 107
  • $10.00
10000006010 RMG1209 poupon indien plate 157
  • $10.00
10000006011 RMG1208 caffer d'amboine plate 91
  • $10.00
10000006012 RMG1207 perequiet de baguewall plate 9
  • $10.00
10000006013 RMG1206 toctasse moor plate 4
  • $10.00
10000006014 RMG1205 spitz-neus plate 2
  • $10.00
10000006015 RMG1201 Raven Bek plate 114
  • $10.00
10000006016 RMG1200 cakatoua soufounam plate 173
  • $10.00