Born in Utrecht in 1804, Pieter van Oort was one of the most talented Dutch illustrators of animals and plants in the early nineteenth century. Because of his special talent, King William I sent him in 1825 to the then Dutch
colonies in Southeast Asia, with the assignment to record the flora and fauna there. Until his death in 1834, Van Oort made extensive land and sea voyages in the region. The report of Van Oort's travels is published in volumes 119 and 120 in the series of the Linschoten-Vereeniging. The books contain complete transcripts of the handwritten travel diaries and many nature drawings that Pieter van Oort made during his travels on Java and Sumatra in the years 1826 to 1834. In this period Pieter van Oort describes the local customs with great eye for detail, monuments and stories on Java. The natural history drawings that he made during and just after the Java War (1825-1830) provide a fascinating insight into a world that can no longer be found in this form on Java and other islands. Many of the animals depicted in this book are now in danger of extinction. The artist's life and travels are placed in a broader historical context.
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