Portret van Georges Cuvier 1833

James Thomson created this print of Georges Cuvier in the first half of the 19th century. Cuvier was a highly influential figure in the history of science. He helped establish the fields of comparative anatomy and paleontology. The portrait presents Cuvier as a figure of authority, one whose status is confirmed by the medals he wears. The picture was made during the Bourbon Restoration, when France was trying to recover from the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. Cuvier was an important figure in the French educational system, specifically the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. His royalist and religious beliefs were politically useful to the restored monarchy. The picture can be viewed as an attempt to rehabilitate the French elites after a period of revolution. To understand this image, historians might study the records of French scientific institutions and the writings of Cuvier. By understanding the social and institutional context of the image, we can come to understand its meaning more fully.