Description

Eduard HILDEBRANDT (1818 – 1868).

Berlin: Storch & Kramer [s. d., but circa 1857-1860, the painting, which served as the draft was made in late 1856, the print was already on sale in 1860].

The present lithograph is a highly detailed color representation of the eminent German naturalist and scholar Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), captured three years prior to his death, amidst his extensive library. Humboldt is renowned for his pioneering explorations in Central and South America, where he conducted groundbreaking scientific research that laid the foundations for various disciplines, including biogeography and ecology.

In this artwork, Humboldt is depicted surrounded by an array of scholarly resources, including an extensive collection of maps and an assortment of scientific instruments pertinent to his research endeavors. The presence of sculptures and a diverse assembly of taxidermy specimens reflects Humboldt’s interest in natural history and biodiversity, showcasing the exotic fauna he encountered during his travels.

Significantly, much of Humboldt’s invaluable collection of artifacts and scientific materials is housed at the Natural History Museum in Berlin. However, it is important to acknowledge that a portion of his collection was tragically lost as a result of the aerial bombings that occurred during the concluding stages of World War II, which had a profound impact on the preservation of historical scientific knowledge.

 

The ”Wonder Painting” by Eduard Hildebrandt

The lithograph is based on a painting by Eduard Hildebrandt (1818-1868), a German artist primarily known for his landscapes. Hildebrandt shared a long and close friendship with the explorer Alexander von Humboldt. Inspired by Humboldt, Hildebrandt traveled abroad, which led him to create some of his most well-known representations of Middle Eastern and Asian landscapes and cities.

In 1848, Eduard Hildebrandt produced his first portrait of the renowned scientist, titled “Alexander von Humboldt in His Study” (originally “Alexander von Humboldt in seinem Arbeitszimmer”)., please ckick fort he image: Digitalisierte Sammlungen der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Werkansicht: [Alexander von Humboldt in seinem Arbeitszimmer]: ein treues Bild meines Arbeitszimmers, als ich den zweiten Theil des Kosmos schrieb(PPN833958925 – {4} – Übersicht mit Inhaltsverzeichnis), Two years later, he created a portrait of Humboldt.

In 1856, Eduard Hildebrandt conducted several visits to his acquaintance, the eminent explorer Alexander von Humboldt, at his residence located at Oranienburger Straße 67 in Berlin. The result was a documentary image depicting Humboldt amidst his extensive collection of artifacts, library, and journals, a scene that even left Humboldt himself in awe. The dimensions of the painting approximated 70 x 100 cm, which was roughly four times larger than Hildebrandt’s 1848 portrait of Humboldt (“Der Naturforscher. Wochenblatt zur Verbreitung der Fortschritte in den Naturwissenschaften, Volumes 2, 1869, nr. 35, p. 288).

Soon after Humboldt communicated with Henriette Mendelssohn (1776 – 1862), the mother of banker Alexander Mendelssohn (1798–1871), who owned the property where Humboldt resided. In his correspondence, he expressed a desire to host her at his home to showcase the “Wonder Painting” of himself created by Eduard Hildebrandt (Jill Rabea Zaun, “Eduard Hildebrandts „Wunderbild“ in einem Brief von Alexander von Humboldt an Henriette Mendelssohn, geb. Meyer,” online source: Anzeige von Eduard Hildebrandts „Wunderbild“ in einem Brief von Alexander von Humboldt an Henriette Mendelssohn, geb. Meyer | HiN – Alexander von Humboldt im Netz. Internationale Zeitschrift für Humboldt-Studien).

On December 1, 1856, the painting was exhibited in Berlin, alongside other artworks that Hildebrandt produced during his travels to North Cape. It is likely that for this occasion, a descriptive text detailing the elements of the painting, accompanied by a transcription of a handwritten note from Humboldt dated November 1856, was published in a tri-lingual format including German, English, and French. (please see the full text here: Deutsches Textarchiv – [Humboldt, Alexander von]: Alexander von Humboldt [Beschreibung eines von Eduard Hildebrandt gemalten Aquarells]. [Berlin], [1856].)

The discourse on the significance of collecting empirical data when one is young to fully understand nature later in life, as articulated by Humboldt, was translated in English with these words:

In youth, man wanders through God’s sublime world open to all impressions,
buoyed up by a hope strong beyond its resources of unriddling the secrets
of Nature, and lost in the delights of research and imagination. In every clime
he feels his mind roused to a sense of higher intellectual enjoyment, whether he
casts a look upwards to the everlasting lights of the firmament, or downwards to
the silent powers at work in the finely woven cells of the vegetable kingdom.
These impressions, by very reason of their strength, remain isolated in their
operation. But when, after a long and active life, old age and the decline of
physical power imperatively command repose, the substance of what has been
collected is increased and enriched by stringing together the conclusions which
the inquirer has formed for himself, as well as by laboriously comparing them
with the recorded results of those who have preceded him in the same field.
The mind by this process vindicates its dominion over matter, and endeavours
to reduce the accumulated mass of empirical experience, partially at least, within
the province of rational knowledge. His next object is to trace, through the
whole extent of Nature, the principle of Law. This philosophic effort to attain
an understanding of Nature, gradually, though mostly not until late in life,
dispels the longcherished dreams of symbolizing mythes.
Berlin, November 1856. Alexander von Humboldt.

The Lithograph

Hildebrand’s painting, the location of which has been lost over time, was displayed in the apartment of the renowned naturalist Alexander von Humboldt following an exhibition in December 1856. Eventually, the painting was bequeathed to Johann Seifert (1800 – 1877), Humboldt’s loyal servant and travel companion, as part of Humboldt’s estate. As of 1869, Seifert was still recorded as the owner of the painting.

The precise timeline for the creation of the elaborate lithograph, which was based on the original work by Hildebrandt and included a facsimile of a manuscript introduction by Humboldt dated November 1856 in its lower margin, remains undetermined. However, it is posited that the lithograph was produced post-1856, following the painting’s exhibition in December of that year. It appeared in a sales catalogue by 1860, indicating its availability to the public. Reports from local news sources from the period suggest the print gained significant popularity, rendering it nearly unobtainable by 1863 (as referenced in Der Naturforscher: Wochenblatt zur Verbreitung der Fortschritte in den Naturwissenschaften, Volumes 1-2, 1869, no. 35, p. 288).

 

Humboldt‘s Collection in Focus

The painting and, subsequently, the lithograph serve as documentary images of Humboldt’s private scientific collection, which he discussed in the accompanying text.

In the front right corner of the image, Humboldt’s diaries can be seen; they are bound in brown leather and secured with metal clasps. These diaries have survived to this day and are preserved at the Berlin State Library (click here for photographs: Humboldt im Netz | hpd). Additionally, there are boxes covered in shiny paper with blue edges that Humboldt used to store his documents. Some of these boxes are preserved at the German Literature Archive in Marbach.

An even more detailed description is provided in an undated pamphlet that describes the painting in three languages. As mentioned earlier, it was likely created for the December 1856 exhibition and describes the items in Humboldt’s study with the following words:

“The familiar objects, which daily surround the person represented in his wonted haunts, are so apt to heighten the interest of his picture by their characteristic individuality, that we are induced to mention a few of the most easily recognized among them: – the Bust in bronze of the King, by our great master Christian Rauch; – the Statuette of Her Majesty the Queen, in classical style, seated; – the very rare Bust of the renowned navigator and discoverer Dom Henrique, Duke of Viseo, after a miniature painting of the Infante, discovered in a spanish MS of the XVth Century at Paris by M. Ferdinand Denis; – a Model of the Obelisk of Luxor, now at Paris, executed by the able Sculptor L. Sussmann after a drawing by Dr. Brugsch the ingenious Aegyptologist. Among the oil-paintings we would notice: – a very faithful representation from nature, by Professor Bellermann, of the picturesque entrance to the Cave of Caripe (Cueva del Guacharo) in South America, in the Missions of the Chaymas Indians, westward of the mouth of the Orinoco, first described by Humboldt; – the design for the grand historical composition, the Death of Leonardo da Vinci, a gift of the celebrated Dominique Ingres; – an excellent design for Gustav Wegener’s great historical landscape (in His Majesty’s Collection), the hermitage of St Basilius on the Armenian river Iris; – and the attractive likeness of the accomplished artist Signora Emma Gaggiotti-Richards, painted at Ancona and presented by herself. In the small apartment in front of the Library, the further wall of which is ornamented by the grand Panorama of Rome (an engraving by Giuseppe Vasi), we observe a portion of the Collection of Birds, and among them the Nightbirds (los Guacharos, Humboldt’s Steatornis Caripensis) found by thousands in the above-mentioned Cave near Caripe, remarkable on account of their extreme scarcity in zoological Collections. The same apartment, which serves as anteroom, contains 83 Folio Volumes of the Chalcographie du Musee Royal, the splendid gift of His late Majesty King Louis Philippe. A portion of the magnetic, astronomical and meteorological instruments, the Traveller’s faithful companions in the basin of the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers, in the Cordilleras, in the Mexican Tableland and in Northern Asia, remind us of long years of varied travel and research.” [Humboldt, Alexander von]: Alexander von Humboldt [Beschreibung eines von Eduard Hildebrandt gemalten Aquarells]. [Berlin], [1856].

While the lithograph likely lost many details from the painted work, several objects remain clearly recognizable.