Pauline Rifer de Courcelles

Life & Legacy

Pauline Knip (née Pauline Rifer de Courcelles) (26 July 1781 – 18 April 1851) was a French bird artist. Her paintings of birds, particularly pigeons, were used in Coenraad Jacob Temminck's multi-part work Histoire Naturelle des Pigeons et des Gallinaces. She altered parts nine and later of this multipart work, retitling it to Les Pigeons by Madame Knip with Temminck only being author of the text. She sent a copy to Temminck that was not tampered with.