Catalogue of Fungi

[PREFACE]
...teaches how to preserve natural objects. This aid, however, is entirely futile for fungi, as drying, immersion in spirits, and applying balm—the principal foundations of preservation—are clearly scorned by this decaying family. Nor do I believe it likely, although I have not seen it myself, that fungi can be imitated with the utmost naturalism in molded wax; for while wax may mimic the substance, almost all artistic aid fails to capture the delicacy of the parts found in fungi. Furthermore, not all illustrations are equally useful for the advancement of science. Those executed with fundamental lines, while highly esteemed for all other vegetation, are, in the case of fungi, as useless as descriptions derived solely from form—where the form is vague, they undertake futile labor, and where it is constant, they render a serious matter even more difficult. Likewise, not every method of painting and drawing, habitual and peculiar to each individual artist, will everywhere attain a description of nature; only that which, almost never relying on personal habit, follows nature most faithfully everywhere. The method of engravers, smoothed with parallel lines, or bristling with short, scattered strokes, or with harsh cross-hatching, just as the airy colors of the Parisians and the cheerful ones of the Nurembergers and Augustans, although they are not without their own merit, if applied indiscriminately, will render fungi—some unlike nature, others too similar. Here, the matter must be judged in a far different way in these more uniform creatures than in plants, which are distinguished from one another by a thousand determinations and conformations of the whole individual. Both artists must conspire so that color, substance, surface, and figure are represented with the utmost accuracy. Certainly, for the artists of Schaeffer Jacob Christian Schäffer (1718–1790), a German theologian and botanist known for his work on fungi., if we except a very few hastily produced pieces, the...

...taking them, art has almost everywhere found means to preserve natural bodies; yet with soft, shriveling fungi, all effort seems to be in vain, as they can neither be dried, preserved in spirits, nor embalmed like other natural objects. Although I have never seen a mushroom modeled in wax, and although I believe that the essence of a mushroom could be imitated very well with it, all art still seems to fall far short of the delicate structure of most mushrooms. Moreover, not every image is suited to increase the knowledge of fungi. Drawings with mere outline are, as far as I can see, highly estimable for all other plants, but for fungi, just like descriptions that rely only on shape, they would be in vain where the formation is inconsistent, and where it remains constant, they would make an already difficult matter noticeably harder. Thus, we cannot apply every manner of painting and copper-engraving everywhere here, but only that which is accustomed to follow nature’s every hint entirely. The Thurneisser Possibly a reference to a specific engraving style or artist. manner with parallel smoothing strokes, the Rembrandt Referring to the expressive, etched line style. manner with scribbled and rough strokes, and the firm Preissler A family of artists known for their technical precision. manner with cross-hatching—these, just like the airy, washed colors of the Parisians and the colorful, cheerful ones used by the artists of Nuremberg and Augsburg, would depict some fungi very much like nature and others very unlike it if we were to apply them universally. Here, we must imagine the matter quite differently than with plants, which can be sufficiently distinguished from one another by a thousand determinations and formations of the entire body. Both the engraver and the painter must strive to ensure that the shape, essence, surface, and color of the fungus are depicted...