In our 06/2017 issue of Restauro, experts report on zoological taxidermy, taxidermy as a restoration object and pest problems in the exhibition area in one of our focus topics. In addition, you can read below about how taxidermy has developed over the centuries. Demonstrable taxidermy, which served not only for pure conservation but also for shaping, dates back to the 13th century […]
In our 06/2017 issue of Restauro, experts report on zoological taxidermy, taxidermy as a restoration object and pest problems in the exhibition area in one of our focus topics. In addition, you can read below about how taxidermy has developed over the centuries.
Demonstrable taxidermy, which served not only for pure conservation but also for shaping, dates back to the 13th century (Ráček 1990, p. 51). From the 15th century onwards, the chambers of art and curiosities were also filled with natural objects in addition to important arts and crafts and ethnological products. They collected the curiosities and abnormalities that sailors brought back from their journeys to unknown lands (Ráček 1990, p. 55ff.). However, due to the lack of preservatives that went beyond salting, drying and storage in the absence of air, most specimens or partial specimens fell victim to beetles and moths until the 18th century. For this reason, and due to difficulties in communication between scientists and researchers throughout Germany, taxidermy had to be constantly rediscovered. The simplest method of preparation was the stuffing preparation. The animal’s innards were removed and the skin was freed from meat residues, then the skin or fur sack was pulled over a coarse wire mesh, filled (stuffed) with straw or wood wool and sewn up (Ráček 1990, p. 71). Drying protected the skin from mold and decomposition. Drying out the skin caused it to shrink and deform and deformed the inner filling, as a result of which the specimen was only slightly anatomically correct (ibid.). When zoos and animal gardens were opened throughout Germany in the mid-19th century and attracted increasing numbers of visitors, the difference became very clear in a direct comparison of the museum exhibits with the real exotic animals. Museums emptied out and taxidermists called for a more naturalistic approach to taxidermy.
One of the pioneers here was Phillip Leopold Martin, who, in addition to nature conservation, advocated the presentation of specimens in dioramas that were modeled on their real environment. After moving from Berlin in 1859, he worked at the Royal Natural History Cabinet in Stuttgart (Jahn 1995). It was probably also he who coined the term “dermoplastic”. In contrast to the aforementioned stuffed specimens, the term describes a solid, artificial muscle body over which the preserved skin can be pulled. His successor was Friedrich Kerz (1842-1915), who stood out for his sculptural talent. Kerz worked in Stuttgart from 1877 to 1915 and was one of the most progressive taxidermists in Europe at the time (Völkel 2004, p. 31). Thanks to his artistic skills, including in the art of drawing and modeling, he finally broke through the boundary between the taxidermist as a craftsman on the one hand and as an artist on the other (ibid.). He was also a good teacher and mentor. His pupil Herman ter Meer (jun.) (1871-1934), who later practiced in Leiden and Leipzig, also possessed artistic skills in modelling and developed his own method of preparation. His working method is still used today as the “Ter Meer method”. In this method, a body frame is fitted with wire mesh and covered with plaster bandages, on which the musculature is then modeled layer by layer with clay (Ráček 1990, pp. 122-124). However, he was not only an outstanding sculptor and dermoplastic artist, but as a co-founder of the “German Artists’ Association of Museum Dermoplastic Artists” (DEKÜMUS), he was also committed to the institutionalization of taxidermy since 1931.
As a result of these developments in taxidermy, the terms “taxidermist” and “stuffed animal” have become unfair simplifications.
Literature (further references can be found in our booklet):
Jahn 1995
Jahn, Ilse: In memory of Karl Kaestner, a pioneer of “museum dermoplastics” – Leopold Martin (1815-1886), in: Der Präparator 1995, issue 41/2.
Kerz 1912
Kerz, Friedrich: The collection, preparation and mounting of vertebrates, Stuttgart 1912.
Ráček1990
Ráček, Milan: Mumia viva – Cultural history of human and animal taxidermy, Graz 1990.
Völkel 2004
Völkel, Hans: Herman H. ter Meer: A life as a dermoplastic artist, Leipziger Universitätsverlag (2004).
