The Black Muray (Muraenae helenae varietas)
published 1754
Medium
etching and engraving with hand coloring on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 35.2 x 25.4 cm (13 7/8 x 10 in.) sheet: 45.1 x 31.3 cm (17 3/4 x 12 5/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green
Accession Number
1991.163.74
Rights
Public Domain
About the Artist
Mark Catesby · 1679–1749
Mark Catesby (1683–1749), an pioneering English naturalist and artist, was born on 24 March 1683 in Castle Hedingham, Essex, and baptized there a week later. His early life remains sparsely documented, with no records of formal education, artistic training, teachers, or mentors, though he was likely influenced by his uncle Nicholas Jekyll, a local naturalist with an intriguing garden and connectio...