The Dodo’s Eulogy: An Examination of the Impressions of Raphus cucullatus

Early Cultural Impact

In the decades following discovery, the idea of the dodo spread to Northern Europe from information born out of initial observations and drawings. From these, the belief that the species was a grotesque oddity began to take shape. The Musaeum Tradescantianum, the founding collection of the Ashmolean Museum, was a conglomerate of various natural specimens, from rocks and minerals to once living rarities (Tradescant 1656). John Tradescant the Elder, a British naturalist and gardener of the 17th century, began the collection through his travels across Europe and other parts of the world under the employment of wealthy English landowners and lords. All would come to view his collection (Britannica 2019). Dodo remains were registered in the collections publication as early as 1656 (Tradescant 1656). Although only briefly mentioned, its presence was indicative of how it was seen: an irregularity of the natural world that was worthy of awe and curiosity.

Like in the Musaeum Tradescantianum, paintings were being produced depicting the dodo alongside other species in pristine natural settings. Roelandt Savery, a prominent Dutch artist of the 16th and 17th C., rendered numerous pieces with dodos (Wheelock 2014). In his 1628 piece Landscape with birds (upper left), Savery shows a plumb awkward dodo alongside delicate exotic species like macaws and cranes, attempting to highlight how out of place it is in the world of other birds (Savery 1628). His piece from the late 1620s, George Edward's DoDo, provides a close up image where the bird is very drab, distended, and rather homely. This is contrasted by the bright, swift macaws circling the bird (middle right) (Savery late 1620s). However, the large dodo dominated the painting, taking up all of the space and situated at its center. A sketch by Savery depicts a pair of dodos posing around some stones with dopey looks on their face (lower left). Savery paints the dodos in different positions and varying settings, creating a comprehensive image of the whole body through multiple action positions. His goal was likely to emphasize its novel figure against other, more renowned, wild bird species.

The popularity of these early renderings in addition to the bird being featured in public venues like the Tradescant Collection, spread the idea of the  dodo as a dumb and awkward bird, and thus established its first prominent descriptions. 

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