This early 19th-century lithograph by Swiss printmaker Karl Joseph Brodtmann (1787-1862) depicts a polar bear standing precariously on an ice floe.

It was originally produced for a natural history publication published in 1827 by Heinrich Rudolph Schinz. Schinz produced several illustrated natural history books on mammals, reptiles, fish and birds. Each of these served to meet the growing appetite for knowledge demonstrated by the middle classes.

Karl Joseph Brodtmann was considered to be one of the finest engravers of his time. His depictions of animals were imbued with beauty and scientific accuracy in equal measure.

Framed and glazed.

Medium: Lithograph on paper
Overall size: 18” x 14” / 46cm x 35cm
Year of creation: c. 1827
Condition: Artwork presents well.