Barnacle Goose — engraving

"Barnacle Goose".

Technique, Material: Chromolithograph / Paper
Artist: Archibald Thorburn,  Engraver: 
Date, Publisher: Lith. Highest Approved Partnership of I. N. Kushnerev and Co., Moscow.
Size: 25,5x16 cm.

The Barnacle Goose (Latin: Anser leucopsis, Bechst.) is a small waterfowl species of the duck family, closely related to geese but distinguished by its more elegant build and striking black-and-white plumage. The Latin name Anser leucopsis (from leucos — white, and opsis — face) was proposed by the German ornithologist Johann Matthäus Bechstein (1757–1822), a renowned naturalist who authored many classic works on ornithology and forestry and made significant contributions to the systematics of European birds. In modern scientific classification, the species is known as Branta leucopsis, retaining the specific epithet given by Bechstein.

The Barnacle Goose has a distinctive appearance: a white face, black neck and breast, and a silvery-grey back with a black-and-white pattern. It breeds in Arctic regions — Svalbard, Greenland, and Novaya Zemlya — and winters on the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas. In the 19th century, this bird attracted attention not only as a biological species but also due to the medieval legend that barnacle geese supposedly hatched from barnacles ("goose barnacles"), which allowed monks to eat them during Lent without considering them meat.

The Artist
The drawing for this chromolithograph was created by the eminent British animal painter Archibald Thorburn (1860–1935). Of Scottish origin, the son of a miniature painter, Thorburn was recognized as the finest ornithological painter of his generation. His works, created in close collaboration with leading naturalists of the era, are distinguished by exceptional anatomical accuracy combined with artistic expressiveness . He gained greatest fame for his 268 watercolors for Lord Lilford's monumental work "Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands" (1885–1898). Thorburn combined scientific precision with high artistic taste, making his work sought after throughout Europe, including Russia.

The Publisher
This lithograph was printed by the printing house of the I. N. Kushnerev and Co. Partnership in Moscow. This enterprise, founded in 1869 by Ivan Nikolayevich Kushnerev, had become one of the largest and most respected printing firms in the Russian Empire by the end of the 19th century, equipped with modern lithographic presses and high-speed printing machines. The Partnership's status as "Highest Approved" meant its charter had been personally approved by the Emperor, serving as a mark of exceptional trust and supreme quality. The Kushnerev printing house was renowned for its first-class execution of illustrated publications, including multi-colored chromolithographs. After the 1917 revolution, the enterprise was nationalized and in 1922 renamed "Krasny Proletary" (Red Proletariat), becoming the government's principal printing house.