Painted Birds

I was in Haarlem for the Audubon exhibition at Teylers Museum. All about art and birds. It isn't a very big exhibition, just one room, but plenty of interesting things to see there. Audubon wanted to paint all the American birds and publish them in a book. He did, the book turned into several volumes and is huge. I mean huge. The original volumes are in glass cases, and they are opened on different pages every day. On the museums website you can check which birds you can see on which day. A nice idea. And, of course, you can flick through the books on a computer so you can see all of the pictures. And then there are all the other bird books and guides you can see, you can follow the development. THe final case has the bird guides I have at home. Fortunately slightly smaller than Audubon's work, and easier to carry with you.



Teylers Museum is a lovely museum quite apart from the birds. Its collection is a strange mix, some fossils, a room full of old scientific equipment, a big, beautiful room with minerals and rocks, a couple of rooms with paintings. The museum basically houses the collection of an 18th century merchant and financier who had a great belief in knowledge and science. The collection does have that sense of the personal about it, it seems a random collection, but I can imagine one person putting it all together. And then keeping it all in such a beautiful building.