Artist & Historian
Brongniart and Cosmopolitan Nineteenth-Century Paris
The cities of Paris and London in the Nineteenth Century were unrivalled for their cultural and scientific activities, and for the speed at which information could be exchanged and science could be debated and refined. Both cities had active scientific and artistic societies. Natural history was as much as popular social activity as it was a scientific pursuit. The careful collection and identification of natural history specimens led to large holdings in both cities. Artists and artisans alike produced images and objects that rapidly disseminated political ideas, fashions, and artistic styles.
Brongniart's life was centred in cosmopolitan Paris, at the heart of both its artistic and scientific communities, and he was well-known for his scientific correspondence that engaged scholars around the world. He made multiple visits to England, establishing relationships with British natural historians including Joseph Banks. He also maintained a wide network of geologists in Great Britain and the Americas.
Global Scientific Networks
Brongniart corresponded with countless global natural historians, geologists, chemists, and biologists. He also maintained a busy cabinet open to visitors and researchers from around the world. He taught a series of courses at locations throughout Paris, including the Institut de France, the School of Mines, and the Paris Museum of Natural History.
Global Artists and Artisans
Brongniart came from a multi-generational family of artists, artisans, printmakers, natural historians, and chemists. His connections to some of the most important thinkers of Paris and London during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries demonstrate the ways in which art and industry were intertwined. The study of his networks offers a fascinating view of the society and culture of the long nineteenth century.
Voyages Near and Far
Brongniart and his networks were active in exploring their own regions and countries, as well as in the scientific voyages that went around the world, including those of Maupertuis and La Condamine in the early eighteenth century, and his close associate Alexander von Humboldt in the 1790s, among many others. Brongniart took more than thirty exploratory trips throughout Europe in order to study the landscape, geology, and industries of the continent.
Brongniart's Networks and World
Brongniart's communities were active in the arts, sciences, culture, and politics. This gallery draws upon the rich imagery of the period to demonstrate the visual culture and to highlight the intellectual and social connections of Brongniart's Paris. See also the related pages on Scientific Networks & Voyages and Artisanal Networks