Burkhardt, Jacques, d. 1867.

Born ca. 1808, Jacques Burkhardt was Louis Agassiz's personal and principal artist. Having studied in Munich and Rome, the Swiss painter served as Agassiz's full-time artist in Neuchatel in the early 1840s. After Agassiz left for America, Burkhardt re-united with him in New York in 1847 and spent most of his career drawing under the MCZ founder's supervision. Burkhardt's turtle illustrations for Agassiz's quintessential work, "Contributions to the natural history of the United States" (4 v., 1857-1862)--widely considered the most elaborately produced American zoological publication of the era--helped establish Burkhardt's reputation within the natural history community. Burkhardt's zoological drawings and landscapes produced during the Thayer Expedition to Brazil (1865-1866) were the culmination of a brilliant although unpublicized career, and he passed away ten months after returning to Cambridge due to an illness aggravated by Brazil's hot climate.

From the description of Collection, 1828-1867 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 181160307