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About the Illustrators

Shortlisted for Singapore Book Awards 2022 (Best Illustrated Non-Fiction Title)

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In the 1800s, two French naturalists named Pierre-Médard Diard and Alfred Duvaucel travelled to Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia to collect and study the local flora and fauna. Knowing that it was important to supplement the specimens they sent back to scientists in Europe with sketches, Diard and Duvaucel commissioned artists to create hundreds of drawings of animals and plants at each of the locations they visited. Today, the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris houses 120 of these drawings, and the entire collection has been digitised and transferred to Singapore’s National Library for safekeeping. Diard & Duvaucel is an initiative between the Embassy of France in Singapore and the National Library to celebrate the deep ties between France and Singapore, as well as the regional biodiversity. The stunning illustrations are accompanied by essays and captions written by curators and scientists.
Pierre-Médard Diard (1794–1863) and Alfred Duvaucel (1793–1824) made significant contributions to the field of natural history. From 1818 until their respective deaths, they explored India and Southeast Asia, collecting animal specimens and sending them back to the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, France. In 1820, the two naturalists went their separate ways: Diard went to Java, Batavia, Malacca, Cambodia and Vietnam, while Duvaucel focused his efforts on the Indian subcontinent. Both were connected to Georges Cuvier, the famous French naturalist—Duvaucel was his stepson and Diard his student.

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Diard & Duvaucel: French Natural History Drawings of Singapore and Southeast Asia (1818-1820)