Erich Nelson

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Erich Nelson (born April 14, 1897 in Berlin , Germany ; † March 22, 1980 in Montreux , Switzerland ) was a German artist , scientific draftsman and botanist . He became known for his more than 2000 precise and aesthetic watercolors and flower studies of European orchids. His botanical-mycological author's abbreviation is " E. Nelson ".

Life

Erich Nelson was born in Berlin in 1897 as the son of the painter Ernst Nelson . He spent a lot of time in the zoological garden during his childhood . From 1915 to 1918 he did military service as a medic. After the First World War , he began training as a painter in Munich and specialized in landscape watercolors and vegetation studies. On April 1, 1923, he married Gerda Kubierschky, the daughter of the painter Erich Kubierschky , who supported Nelson during his training. On a trip to Italy in 1928 he had a decisive encounter with the orchids , which from then on formed his life as an artist, researcher and scientific draftsman. As a result, in addition to the artistic work, he devoted himself to studying botany with Professor K. von Göpel and Fritz von Wettstein in Munich. In 1931 he published his first scientific work "The Orchids of Germany and Adjacent Areas".

Due to his Jewish origins, he had to leave Germany with his wife Gerda in 1933 and, after a stopover in South Tyrol, found his second home in Switzerland , in Chernex- sur-Montreux. He found support on his escape from a good friend, Professor Walther Rytz from Bern. After many journeys in the Mediterranean region, tireless painting and intensive literature studies (including at the Geobotanical Institute Rübel in Zurich ), he published his four main works between 1954 and 1976, “Laws of Shape Change in the Flower Area. Their significance for the problem of evolution ”,“ Shape change and speciation discussed using the example of the orchids of Europe and the Mediterranean countries, in particular the genus Ophrys ”,“ Monograph and iconography of the Orchidacean genera Serapias , Aceras , Loroglossum , Barlia ”,“ Monograph and iconography of the Orchidaceae genus Dactylorhiza ”. The University of Lausanne awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1967 for the first two outstanding scientific papers .

Erich Nelson died unexpectedly on March 22, 1980 in a tragic traffic accident . He left behind a large number of unpublished drawings, studies and watercolors. In order to preserve this artistic work of her husband and to make it accessible to posterity, his wife Gerda Nelson founded the Dr. hc Erich Nelson under the jurisdiction of the Canton of Bern , which she made the sole heir of the entire Nelson estate. Gerda Nelson, the first president of this foundation, died in 1990 without the board of trustees taking up its work. The last Nelson work was posthumously published by the Board of Trustees in 2001 under the name "Erich Nelson - personality and life's work from today's scientific point of view, with the publication of his pictorial work of the genus Orchis ".

Erich Nelson as an artist

Erich Nelson was both an artist and a scientific draftsman. As an artist, he skilfully illustrated the beauty of nature with his landscape watercolors in the style of impressionism . As a scientific draftsman, on the other hand, Erich Nelson knew how to document the European orchids with precise drawings . Thanks to his drawings, he has scientifically and correctly documented the change in shape in the flower area of ​​the various orchid species and thus shown that orchids can vary greatly in color and shape within a species. Today it is possible with DNA analyzes in the area of ​​speciation to partially understand his graphic findings. The scientific draftsman is still irreplaceable for this type of documentation today, as neither the computer nor photography are able to guide the human eye precisely to the important properties of an object. With regard to the quality of his works, Professor Heinrich Zoller compares Nelson with the most famous plant painters of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Georg Dionysius Ehret , Redouté and the Bauer brothers. His works are kept in the State Archives of the Canton of Bern.

His works

  • The orchids of Germany and neighboring areas. 1931.
  • Laws of shape change in the flower area. Their relevance to the problem of evolution. 1954.
  • Shape change and speciation discussed using the example of the orchids of Europe and the Mediterranean countries, in particular the genus Ophrys. 1962.
  • Monograph and iconography of the Orchidaceae genera Serapias, Aceras, Loroglossum, Barlia. 1968.
  • Monograph and iconography of the Orchidaceae genus Dactylorhiza. 1976.
  • Erich Nelson - personality and life's work from today's scientific point of view, with the publication of his pictorial work of the genus Orchis. 2001.
    Monograph and Iconography
    E. Nelson's work "Monograph and Iconography of the Orchidaceae Genus Dactylorhiza" (plates and text)

Further literature

  • E. Nelson: Replica to Prof. Sterins 'Review of: E. Nelson,' Laws of the shape change in the flower area, their meaning for the problem of evolution. In: evolution. XI, No. 1, 1957, pp. 108-110.
  • K. Ammann, PL. Nimis, G. Wagner, M. Beriger: Erich Nelson's Scientific Heritage, A Reassessment. Manuscript for the Symposium on Community Ecology and Conservation Biology in Bern, Switzerland, April 14-18. 1994.
  • G. Nelson: Address on the occasion of the vernissage. Exhibition "The miracle of the orchid blossom, life and work of Erich Nelson" in the Botanical Garden in Bern. 1983.
  • G. Nelson: Communication. Free colloquium of the Systematic-Geobotanical Institute of the University of Bern. 1983.
  • PL. Nimis, R. Schmid-Hollinger: On the critical analysis of the work of Erich Nelsons. Free colloquium of the Systematic-Geobotanical Institute of the University of Bern. 1983.
  • E. Nelson, S. Dirschka: Memoirs of Erich Nelson. Community archive, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen 2003.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martin Kurz: Erich Nelson. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  2. ↑ Entry at IPNI
  3. ^ A b E. Nelson, H. Fischer: The orchids of Germany and the neighboring areas. 1931.
  4. ↑ a b E. Nelson: Laws of shape change in the flower area. Their relevance to the problem of evolution. E. Nelson publisher, Chernex-Montreux 1954.
  5. ↑ a b E. Nelson: Shape change and speciation discussed using the example of the orchids of Europe and the Mediterranean countries, in particular of the genus Ophrys. With a monograph and iconography of the genus Ophrys. E. Nelson publisher, Chernex-Montreux 1962.
  6. ↑ a b E. Nelson: monograph and iconography of the Orchidaceous genera Serapias, Aceras, Loroglossum, Barlia. E. Nelson publishing house, Chernex-Montreux 1968.
  7. ^ A b E. Nelson: monograph and iconography of the Orchidaceen genus Dactylorhiza. Zurich 1976.
  8. ↑ a b E. Nelson, P. Peisl: Erich Nelson - personality and life's work from today's scientific point of view, with publication of his pictorial work of the genus Orchis. Erich Nelson Foundation, Zurich 2001.
  9. ↑ a b G. Wagner: Erich N. (1897–1980). In: Mitt. Der Naturforschenden Ges. In Bern. NF 59, 2002, pp. 165-173.
personal data
SURNAME Nelson, Erich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German artist and scientific draftsman
DATE OF BIRTH April 14, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin , Germany
DATE OF DEATH March 22, 1980
Place of death Montreux , Switzerland