On some eighteenth century animal portraits of interest for systematic zoology

The English zoologist Thomas Pennant (1726—1798) visited The Hague in 1765. There he met another zoologist, Dr. Peter Simon Pallas (1741—1811). On July 30th they visited together the Dutch painter Aart Schouman (1710—1792). Pennant’s diary records: “Accompanied Doctor Pallas a very ingenious young man from Berlin, to Mr. Schouman’s, an exellent painter of beasts and birds in oil and water colours. Took a list of several which I want.—Great Owl. Sort of Nightingale. Young Cuckoo. Ruffe and Reeve. Kol eend a Duck, male and female. Teal. Hook Bill Duck. Een Zee coot. My new Guillemot. Wild Goose. Brent Goose Bernacle. Three small Divers. Ermine. Tragulus. Little Goat. Grey Squirrel. Two black Monkeys. Paca. Mungos Civet Cat. Little Antelope at the Menagery. Boar at ditto.” From Pennant’s autobiography (1793) we know that the idea of a Synopsis of Quadrupeds was then in his mind. The first edition of this book appeared at Chester, 1771, with 31 plates. We could, however, not trace any work by Schouman in it, nor in the second edition which appeared in London 1781, entitled: “History of Quadrupeds”, now with 52 plates. In 1766 and following years A. Vosmaer edited descriptions of animals kept in the Menagery of Prince William V of Orange-Nassau near The Hague. These descriptions were illustrated with plates engraved mostly by Simon Fokke after watercolours by Schouman and others. In some copies of these descriptions the plates are hand-coloured. Pennant’s new edition of the History of Quadrupeds, London 1793, contains several engravings, signed: P. Mazell Sculp (sit), which are easily recognizable as reversed copies of Fokke’s engravings after Schouman.