Language: Bilingual in English and French
The archives of the world's libraries and museums are filled with little seen and under-appreciated treasures, but few objects are as exquisite and unknown as the paintings of fishes and invertebrates made by Isaac Johannes Lamotius on the tiny Indian Ocean island of Mauritius in the late 17th century. During his govenorship of this band of Dutch colonists, he devoted his spare time to drawing and painting aquatic animals, the remaining 250 of which are reproduced here for the first time.