A great auk for the Sun King

• Published in: Archives of Natural History
• Main Authors: De Lozoya, Arturo Valledor, García, David González, Parish, Jolyon
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Edinburgh University Press 2016
• Subjects: Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous); History; Anthropology; Great auk; Pinguinus impennis
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3366/anh.2016.0345; https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full-xml/10.3366/anh.2016.0345

This paper describes two watercolours and one engraving of the great auk (Pinguinus impennis) executed by the French painter Nicolas Robert probably between 1666 and 1670. Despite their interest as early images of this extinct species and the first ones rendered in colour, they have not been mentioned in the literature. The images suggest that the bird was kept alive in the menagerie at the palace in Versailles, where Robert portrayed it for Louis XIV; Robert's paintings are collectively known as “Les vélins du Roi”.