46 Beautiful Vintage Nature Illustrations by Jan Brandes

Inside: Explore the beauty of the 18th century through the eyes of Jan Brandes with our curated selection of 46 nature illustrations. Available in the public domain, these sketches capture the essence of the natural world with intricate detail, making them ideal for home decor, educational projects, or personal collections.

While browsing the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam’s digital collection, I came across a Dutch artist named Jan Brandes and his incredible illustrated sketchbook. I knew I needed to add his work to the site’s vintage natural history collection.

In 1776, Brandes was appointed a physician for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). And was sent to the Dutch colony of Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon). He spent the next decade travelling throughout the region, documenting the local flora and fauna in watercolours and drawings.

He was particularly interested in the plants and animals used in traditional medicine. His vintage nature illustrations are incredibly detailed and accurate. They give us a fascinating glimpse into the natural world of the 18th century.

Jan Brandes Vintage Nature Sketches

During his travels throughout the Dutch East Indies, Jan documented everything he saw – from the tiniest insect to a giant elephant. His sketchbook is a true treasure trove of information. Incredibly he captured so much detail in his drawings without the benefit of modern technology.

The highlights of Brandes’ nature illustrations are in the Rijksmuseum’s collection. They include his depictions of exotic birds, such as the colourful lorikeet. And detailed sketches of Asian elephants that give a sense of the size and majesty of these beautiful creatures.

His sketches of Asian plant life are highly regarded, including depictions of everything from medicinal herbs to fruit trees. And the drawings of insects and other small creatures are notable for their meticulous detail and scientific accuracy.

One of the things that makes Brandes’ drawings so unique is how he captures the essence of each subject. His nature drawings are not merely scientific illustrations; they are works of art that convey a sense of the beauty and wonder of the natural world. No wonder they are so highly valued by scientists, artists, and nature lovers alike!

How To Download The Nature Illustrations

To download the Jan Brandes sketch that you want, click on the title above that image. A higher-resolution image will open in another window in your browser. You can save it to your device or print it if you click on that sketch.

All the nature illustrations here are in the Public Domain and Copy-right free. They are arranged by subject.

Vintage Plant Sketches

A selection of the vintage botanical illustrations and drawings featured in Jan Brandes sketch books.

Sketch 1: Mangosteen Fruit

One of the most delicious tropical fruits and a firm favourite of mine.

Translated inscription: ‘” Mangosteen grows from a trunky straight tree with a round crown, with thick hard leaves. The outer skin is tough and bitter, but the white inside is soft and tastes sweet, almost like peaches or apricots; it has a smooth stone in every part, which tastes bitter; one can tell by the tenth rose how many parts and pips it contains his, as long as the same number always corresponds”. 8 Dec 1784.

Sketch 2: Mangosteen Leaf

Translated inscription: “Is a thick and smooth leaf of the round and short mangosteen tree, with heavy, brittle branches hanging down below with its fruits, which are very heavy, bent downwards, shown on the former side.“

Sketch 3: Large Tropical Tree

Colour nature drawing of a tropical landscape with a large tree and figure in the centre. This was sketched in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

Sketch 4: Red Flower

Colour drawing of a piece of stem and flower of a plant that occurs on the Cape of Good Hope.

Sketch 5: Pineapple

Colour nature drawing of a bursting pineapple.

Sketch 6: Betel Leaf

Inscription: ” Siri or Betel leaf, with klyne ribs on the outside, grow as a climb on kadondong trees planted against it, or sticks arranged in rows always capped from above. Jan 14. 1785.“

Chewing betel leaves is a common practice in many parts of Asia and the Pacific Islands and is believed to have a mild stimulant effect similar to caffeine. In some cultures, betel leaves are also used in traditional medicine for their anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties.

Check out these other tropical leaf prints.

Sketch 7: Pinang Tree

Colour drawing of a pinang tree (or areka palm or betel palm) with its fruits, the so-called areka or betel nuts.

Sketch 8: Tropical Fruit Trees

Vintage nature sketches of a pisang (tree), a breadfruit tree (or jackfruit) and a coconut tree.

Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world, with some fruits weighing up to 100 pounds! It has a distinctive flavour and texture, often described as a cross between a pineapple and a banana.

Sketch 9: Durian

Inscription: ‘”The sure and pungent smell – almost like human excrement – of this fruit is intolerable to most Europeans; it spreads throughout the house and causes many Europeans not to eat them. The ones they like to eat do not smell the unpleasant smell.”

Sketch 10: Tropical Flower

Vintage colour illustration of a tropical flower in bloom by Jan Bandes.

Vintage Bird Sketches

A selection of the bird drawings and paintings featured in Brandes sketchbooks.

Sketch 11: Indonesian Treecreeper

Sketch 12: Wagtale and Fruit

Inscription: “Ceylon’s Birdie, it marches like a wagtail, does not hop, lives on flies and caterpillars. Nov 28. 1785″.

‘Ceylon Adam’s apple. is poisonous. it closes one’s throat so that one cannot eat or drink for three days. “

Sketch 13: Cockatoos

Vintage coloured sketches of a Salmon Crested cockatoo.

Inscription: “‘Ambonese large cockatoo, called Béka in Buginese as big as a hen. This one I brought from East India to Sweden and had there for a long time. He was reddish-white, with crimson feathers under the long crest of feathers; he could speak and flute coarsely like a man. Drawn October 30, 1784. “

Sketch 14: Lovebirds

Colour illustrations of a Ceylon lovebird in various poses on a perch.

Sketch 15: Ambon Parrots

Ambon is an Indonessian Island. Coloured sketches of various parrots and cockatoos, including a Purple naped lory, Sulphur-crested cockatoo, coconut Lorikeet and other red parrots.

Sketch 16: Stork

Colour nature sketch of a stork-like bird.

Sketch 17: Pigeon

Nautre coloured illustration of an ‘amakoea’ pigeon found on the Cape of Good Hope, sitting on a projecting beam.

Sketch 18: Crested Bird

Colour drawing of a crested bird and a sprig of rowan berries.

Sketch 19: East Indian Quail

Translated inscription: “East Indian quail male. The female is completely grey as the male looks from the back”.

Sketch 20: Crowned Pigeon

A crowned pigeon as a big as a turkey.

Vintage Nature Illustrations of Insects

A collection of insect drawings from the sketch book.

Sketch 21: Planthopper, Cricket & Cockroach

A vintage nature sketch of several insects, including a planthopper, common house cricket and a cockroach.

Sketch 22: Grasshoppers

Full size colour drawing of a green and a black grasshoppers.

Sketch 23: Flying Leaf Insect

Translated inscription: “The Flying Leaf drawn after the dried Insect when they are alive they are wholly green.“‘

Sketch 24: Spiders Head

Translated inscription: “8 glittering corals on the front of a spider’s head, after probably her eyes, drawn through a microscope.”
“Another spider head also with 8 eyes, of which the middle 4 were black and the others as if filled with water. Drawn through the microscope.”

Sketch 25: Java Butterly

Vintage colour nature butterfly illustrations including a Java butterfly and two Swedish butterflies.

Sketch 26: Javanese Butterflies and Moths

Sketch 27: Mushroom Lava

The colour nature sketch of a larva living in a mushroom is depicted next to it, and different beetle forms emerge from the larva. Larva and beetle are seen through the microscope.

Sketch 28: Glow worms

Several glowworms drawn through a microscope.

For more illustrations of insects by Dutch naturalists, check out the works of Maria Sibylla Merian – she is best known for her meticulous paintings of insects, particularly butterflies and moths, which she observed during her travels to Suriname and other parts of South America.

Also, Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600) was a Flemish artist who worked in the Netherlands and is known for his exquisite insect art.

Vintage Illustrations of Elephants and Other Mammals

Zoological drawings from Jan Brandes albums.

One of Jan Brandes’s favourite subjects in his sketchbooks was elephants. His drawings of elephants are particularly noteworthy for their accuracy and attention to detail.

Brandes captured the distinct physical features of these majestic creatures, such as their wrinkled skin and prominent tusks, as well as their behaviour in the wild. His sketches also provide insights into how elephants were used by local people, such as for transportation and in religious ceremonies.

Sketch 29: On Year Old Elephant

A black and white drawing of a one year old elephant and a pencil sketch of its leg and trunk.

Sketch 30: Working Elephant

Colour drawing of an elephant drawn obliquely from behind. Three Sinhalese sit on his back.

Sketch 31: Group of Grey Langur Monkeys

Black and white illustrations of the ‘grey monkey’s with white beards in different poses.

Sketch 32: Squirrel

A detailed nature drawing of a squirrel found in Ceylon.

Sketch 33: Mole

Tranlasted inscription: “Capsche Mole, small and large up to 1 foot long, black, brown, and pied.”

Sketch 34: Lemur

Translated inscription: “Lemur tardigradus on the ship March 25, 1786, slept all day with his snout in his chest, in the evening & at night he walked about in his cage, and climbed upside down, he ate banana & rice. He had a cub that he hid between his paws.“

Sketch 35: Grey Monkey on Leash

Vintage Illustrations of Lizards

A collection of colourful nature illustrations of lizards featured in Jan Brandes’s skectch book albums.

Sketch 36: Large House Lizard

Large house lizard. Dwelt in the roofs, the old trees’ holes, and where it is dark. Lives on vermin, flies, and other insects that fly into the houses.

Sketch 37: Land & Water Lizard

“Land and water lizard, a great one indeed, lives along the ditches of flies and worms; they are abundant. They are not very shy and do not harm people, but their bite is poisonous, have scales like fish, also climb on trees, and when their tails are thrown off, they grow back again.”

Sketch 38: Tree Lizard

“March 8, 1785 Tree lizard, changes colour, then becomes yellow, green, brown, black, after the colour it sits on, it also changes colour when one taunts it; has a round tongue like a fish. Maybe this is the chameleon.”

Sketch 39: Tree Lizard & House Gecko

“Catches the mosquitoes at night in the houses, walks upside down against the attic and mirrors and glass along the smooth walls, her legs are carved with very fine lips so that they can grasp even the finest pores, or inequalities, and cling to it; they change colour, like the Chameleon, after the colour of that which they sit on, white, green, grey, black-eyed.“

Sketch 40: Monitor Lizard

“Has a blue two-pointed tongue, grow 3 feet long, are poisonous, sting horses and buffaloes that they must die, eat fowl, climb everywhere, and live both, and most, in the water as on land, run very fast, and hide under the water and in the mud if they are pursued, they stop at the cemeteries, are eaten by the Chinese and Portuguese, also by some Europeans, the meat tastes better than fowl, but the locals don’t eat them.”

Vintage Illustrations of Sealife

Fish and other sealife drawings from Jan Brandes album.

Sketch 41: Four Fish

Nature drawings of four fish, garfish, flatfish, cuttlefish and flying fish.

Sketch 42: Cuttlefish

Two color drawings and a sketch of octopus-like small shellfish.

Sketch 43: Whales

Drawing of two whales Jan Brandes had spotted from his ship.

“This North Caper was seen just as we passed the tropics Capricorni, guessing about 40 feet long, he beat his Fin on the water in turning, and rose all 100 counts and spewed water, his tail lay flat, and not rising up like most fish.“

Sketch 44: Hammerhead Shark

Black and white drawing of a hammerhead shark seen from two sides.

Sketch 45: Shark and Fishes

Sketch 46: Jellyfish

Colour natural history drawing of a sea jellyfish when swimming and on land.

Other Related Posts

Check out the Louis Renard fish paintings for stunning illustrations of more fish and sea creatures in the Dutch East Indies.

Also, there is a fantastic assortment of botanical and animal drawings in Oliver Goldsmith’s vintage nature posters from his book A History of the Earth and Animated Nature.