Pirogues des naturels de L'ile Toud, Detroit de Torres
Artist
Louis Le Breton (1818-1866)
(French, 1818 - 1866)
Datec 1846
Object number00008363
NameLithograph
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 340 x 468 mm, 0.25 kg
Display Dimensions: 340 x 468 mm
Display Dimensions: 340 x 468 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionPirogues des naturels de L'ile Toud, Detroit de Torres...Sud et dans l'oceanie. Atlas pittoresque pl. 190. Dessine par le Breton. Lith par p. Blanchard. Gide editeur. Lith de Thierry Freres Paris'.
('Canoes of the inhabitants The Toud Island (Tudu Island), Torres Strait of south Oceania')
The French expeditions led by Dumont D’Urville recorded a wealth of information about the Pacific and Antarctica. Included in this was the careful recording of Indigenous watercraft such as this outrigger canoe from the Torres Strait.HistoryJules Dumont D'Urville was a French naval officer who commanded voyages of discovery to the Pacific Ocean and Antarctica in the first half of the 19th century.In his early career he had participated in a survey of the Aegean Sea, where he was instrumental in the recovery for the Musee de Louvre of the 'Venus de Milo'. He also served with distinction as second in command to Captain Louis Duperrey during a circumnavigation in the corvette LA COQUILLE (1822 1825).
Based on the success of this voyage the French Minister for the Navy commissioned another voyage in LA COQUILLE. An important goal of this expedition was to discover what had happened to the La Perouse expedition (which had disappeared without trace 40 years earlier), and with this in mind, LA COQUILLE was renamed after La Perouse’s ship L’ASTROLABE. The expedition lasted three years and successfully solved the La Perouse mystery, discovering shipwreck remains at Vanikoro Island in the Solomon Islands. Several anchors, cannons and chains were brought back to France where they were used in a monument to La Perouse.
Between 1837 and 1840 D’Urville in L’ASTROLABE (accompanied by LA ZELEE) explored parts of the Antarctic. The results of both voyages were published in Paris and included magnificent large format atlases containing a wide variety of detailed charts and illustrations. In 1842 Dumont D’Urville’s career was brought to an abrupt end when he and his family were tragically killed in a train accident.
SignificanceDumont D'Urville's two expeditions (1826 1829 and 1837-1840) brought back significant scientific collections which emulated the achievements of James Cook in the 1770s and paralleled the work of Charles Darwin aboard the BEAGLE.
In addition to the scientific staff, both expeditions included artists of considerable talent. On the first expedition the chief artist was Louis de Sainson. Ernest Goupil was the official artist during part of the second expedition, however, when he died during the voyage he was succeeded by the expedition's assistant surgeon Louis le Breton. Today Dumont D'Urville is recognised for initiating and applying a classification system to various ethnic groups - describing them as Austronesian, Polynesian, Melanesian or Micronesian.
