Mesnard, Theodore Romuald Georges 1814-1844 :Vue de Kororareka, baie des iles, Nlle Zelande. Plate 87. [October or November 1838] / Mesnard

Shows Russell (Kororareka) from Watering Bay drawn by Enseigne de vaisseau (Ensign) Mesnard, an artist aboard the French vessel the Venus, commanded by Abel du Petit-Thouars. The town is shown in some detail, including the church, houses and fences, with the palisades of the pa. There is a Maori canoe with a sail in the right foreground, the Venus' coracle undergoing repairs by two French sailors to the left, and on the far left are two further sailors, one rolling a water-barrel, the other smoking a pipe. The image was lithographed for the published account of the voyage in 1841, as Plate 61, with title 'Village de Kororareka'

Kororareka (Russell) was the major settlement in New Zealand in 1838, when the Venus visited during October-November 1838. Mesnard appeared to have no official responsibilities as a draughtsman, but a number of his sketches were lithographed for the published account of the voyage. The artist came from a naval family in Normandy - see Collins, R.D.J. New Zealand seen by the French 1769-1864 (Wellington, 1991)

See also Turnbull Library Record Vol 16 no 2 October 1983, p 104-106 for a list of other original material relating to this voyage, held in the Archives Nationales, Paris. Copies of some items are available in A.T.L.'s Manuscripts and Archives Collection

Plate number inscribed on this watercolour implies that it was prepared for publication. There are a number of differences between the watercolour and the related lithograph, most obviously the perspective, which is imperfect in the watercolour. An additional sailor is present on the beach, and the placement of the men repairing the boat has altered in the lithograph.

Other Titles - View of Kororareka, Bay of Islands, New Zealand [translation]; Village de Kororareka, Nouvelle Zelande, Kororareka Village [title of related lithograph]

Inscriptions: Verso - bottom right - Mesnard [in ink]; Verso - top right - Pl.87 [in ink]; Verso - top centre - Kororareka baie des iles Nlle Zelande [in pencil]

Quantity: 1 watercolour(s).

Physical Description: Watercolour with pencil & ink inscriptions 203 x 329 mm on cream laid paper

Provenance: Acquired by John Gow from a London art dealer, who had purchased the work from an art dealer on the outskirts of Paris, who had acquired the work from a French provincial auction, ca 1992.