Your Humboldt biography was 2015 is a world best-seller. For the Humboldt year, Andrea Wulf published a further work about the famous Explorer. With the DW you spoke about your “illustrated journey of discovery”.
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On an adventure with Alexander von Humboldt
Deutsche Welle: Ms. Wulf, you have presented in 2015, with the monumental biography “Alexander von Humboldt and the invention of nature,” an award-winning global bestseller. What prompted you to approach Humboldt now once again in a completely different way: with a colourful, opulent illustrated book on his famous South American Expedition?
Andrea Wulf: Humboldt is always portrayed as a scientist, but forget that he was also an artist. Humboldt brings together the art and the science, and I wanted to make a book that shows the. The real reason was that at the end of 2013 were made the legendary South American diaries of Humboldt, which were until then in private possession, for the first time, available to the Public, because the Prussian cultural heritage Foundation has bought it. They were digitized and were from the end of 2014 are available online. When I saw these documents, it blew me away.
It was clear to me that I wanted to do something different than Humboldt, that shows that Humboldt has not understood the nature, not only intellectually as a rational scientist, but also a very visually and emotionally. “The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt,” are the result – a book that is unique to any Genre.
Alexander von Humboldt, copper engraving from 1805
The Americans say Graphic Novel, but I have a Problem, because it always involves something Fictional, while this book is based completely on facts. I would like to call it an illustrated journey of discovery: a book that is inspired by Humboldt’s own diary notes, his drawings and plant samples.
When did you realize for the first Time, that you want to deal intensively with the researchers and explorers?
In 2002, my Agent in England, born in Venezuela, has said, the first Time to me: You’d have to actually write a book about Alexander von Humboldt, because he was raised in Venezuela with the adventure stories of Alexander von Humboldt and Humboldt in Latin America is so famous for. I have not taken the time really seriously.
Twelve years ago, I wrote a book about the American founding fathers a Chapter on Humboldt, which was not ultimately published. At the time, grabbed me by the Humboldt-passion.
The book appears on the occasion of the 250. Birthday of the largest German natural scientist at the 14. September, 2019. What does Alexander von Humboldt today, and for the natural Sciences?
Humboldt’s ideas are still very relevant. As Humboldt’s first understanding of nature. This is also the reason why my biography, “The invention of nature”. He has invented the concept of nature, as we understand it today. He described nature as a living organism, as a coherent Whole. This is basically our idea of the Ecosystem. He has already warned in 1800, before the human-caused climate change. For me, this is one of the very important ideas of Humboldt are still relevant today.
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“The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt”Humboldt Forschungsb Engine
Andrea Wulf, and the Illustrator Lillian Melcher have to drive Humboldt’s Research and his immense curiosity into memorable images and texts expressed: “I want… no, I need to understand the world around me and want to find out how everything is connected in nature. Therefore, we will paddle slowly on the Jaguar…”
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“The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt”Travel report of a researcher
Tirelessly Humboldt, researchers, and the media informed of its findings: “We are back in the jungle, with crocodiles, snakes, and mosquitoes… But that doesn’t stop us from collecting hundreds of plants to dissect crocodiles and to catch a lot of strange fish that we put in jars preserving, which we will send to Europe.”
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“The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt”The Vegetation Zones
“The way from Quito up to the Chimborazo is like a Botanical journey from the Equator to the poles.” Humboldt was the first scientist who, in his ascent of the mountain, the man at the beginning of the 19th century. Century still held to the highest in the world, the vegetation zones named, and in a famous graphics illustrated.
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“The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt”Humboldt’s Drawings
Lillian Melcher has used drawings from Humboldt’s journals and complemented by comic-style picture stories. So it shows as it is for Humboldt and his friend Bonpland on their journey down the rapids of the Orinoco increasingly difficult to find a place to camp. “We’re sleeping on a granite boulder in the middle of the river… But the bats in the columns hausen, keep us awake.”
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“The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt”A life-threatening trip
On their journey, Humboldt and his companion Aimé Bonpland in danger of life were. A 15-Meter-high waves, the ship’s galley is under water… And the speech bubbles are blown out of the water. Lillian Melcher has implemented Humboldt adventure with a lot of wit.
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“The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt”Review of the old Humboldt
Humboldt discovered on his research trip for a cold ocean current and relative in age, looking back: “in the Meantime, it bears the name of the Humboldt current, this is a great honor, don’t get me wrong, but even the fishermen boys in the villages on the coast knew of this ocean current. I was just the First that has measured your temperature.”
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“The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt”Fame and glory
During his journey, Humboldt became world famous. In the adventure book, he looks back fictitious: “imagine 80,000 people marched in my honor through the streets of Berlin and 25,000 in Manhattan. The entire front page of the New York Times was dedicated to my one hundred year celebration.”
But it is also very important, and that Humboldt insists that we should understand the nature of our feelings and our imagination that we bring art and science together.These things are today, I think, when we think about climate change, enormously important. We cannot leave this Problem to the engineers and the scientists, but this is something that is also for artists and for Poets to be considerable: we talk about the magic of nature; that we are talking about the fact that we protect what we love.
You have accompanied in February, Federal President of Germany, Steinmeier is in South America, as he opened the Humboldt year. Has the causes for you personally again a change in their perception?
For me, that was a great Moment, as I was in February with President Steinmeier in South America: how politicians today see Humboldt’s ideas are still considered somewhat relevant. Angela Merkel has cited, for example, in February, at the Munich security conference, Humboldt so that everything is in interaction. Humboldt’s idea that everything hangs together, is as important today as it was back then.
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) traveled for five years through South America (1799 – 1804). His discoveries he described in thousands of drawings, letters, and diary entries. Later, he tried to unite in his five-volume work, “cosmos”, the various Sciences.
If someone eight years ago, as I sat alone in the archive, would have said that I would be driving in the year 2019 with the German Federal President to South America, in a speech in Quito, listen to, where the Federal President on Humboldt’s importance in today’s climate-change talks, then I would have never believed it in life. For me, that was a real goosebumps moment. Has not changed my idea of Humboldt, but I was aware at once strong: Humboldt belongs in the international temple of nature and of science, like Charles Darwin or Albert Einstein. I have the feeling that he was pulling slowly again.
How is it for the “adventures of Alexander von Humboldt” to the cooperation with the young Illustrator Lillian Melcher?
I decided that I wanted to make a book that pays tribute to the artistic side of Humboldt, was, of course, clear that I can’t do this alone, because I’m not an artist. I then wrote to an Illustrator that I greatly admire, and you are asked if you would like to join with me on this project to work. She had no time, but it was recommended to me by a student in Lillian Melcher as the best student they’ve had in ten years. After that, we met in New York.She has made a sample Chapter, and I liked it very, very good. The cooperation has started. We have really created a community work, we have side by side discussed the sat and scene for scene, as the look would have, what documents, what plants should be there. What was for me really great, is that Lillian Melcher is also totally obsessed with historical Details that Humboldt is holding the instruments correctly, that he wears the right clothes, etc.
How have you researched this?
It was relatively difficult, because few people know how exactly the instruments, for example, have been used. But it specialists for everything, of course, is also a Professor in California who has specialized in historic scientific instruments and is also a total humboldtians. He has sent us photos of where he had photographed step-by-step, as Humboldt has used the instruments. So Lillian was able to implement this in your drawings.
You have called the Humboldt itself, the third employee at this plant. What has he contributed?
Humboldt’s drawings, Humboldt samples of plants, Humboldt’s maps, Humboldt engravings on each page in this book. But also the way he has invested in his manuscripts, were an Inspiration for Lillian Melchers visual language. Humboldt’s manuscripts are multi-layered collages: He wrote on slips of paper, which he glued on each other. These collages are inspired Lillian, exactly the kind of pages, by pages of Humboldt’s diary as a Background, on small pieces of paper glued and then the figures on it.
Humboldt is the third staff, because his drawings are in the book, but also because of the way he has his science to visually printed, is to become part of our visual language.
You have written the text, the Storyboard. This is something completely different than writing an extensive biography. Is it to shorten them easily like?
Erfolsautorin Andrea Wulf is a real”Humboldtian”
This is a bit like driving on the left or on the right side of the car. As soon as you sit on the other side of the steering Wheel, I get it, you very quickly what is different. I’m always been a very visual person, I’ve thought for a long time-years, if I should be an artist or a writer. (Luckily, I’m a writer.) For me, it was an incredible pleasure to treat Humboldt, unlike in a classical biography. I could be a bit naughty, could give him a bit more, the voice that I heard all the time in my head when I read his letters and his diaries. And I was able to implement what I couldn’t do in the “invention of nature”: namely, all the drawings with bring and his personality add. No, it is not so difficult for me. Now I have the feeling that the circle has closed, and now it is also enough.
I’ve heard that you are working on a Film about Humboldt.
That was a Humboldt-Doku for the Second German television. I’m footsteps once again Humboldt through South America followed, and the camera accompanied me. It was a great experience, because we were not in a couple of places where I was before, for example, in the remote rapids of the Orinoco in Colombia. Now, in may, on TV and on the Internet.
You have to even be in the book draw, although everything else is not fictitious, but the reality modeled.
It’s a bit like Alfred Hitchcock in his films. Lillian and I both have a gig. Humboldt has drawn a penguin, he has been in Lima at the port, seen. This drawing of the Humboldt penguin looks very similar to how Lillian signed her animals, which is why I said to her, actually, we would have to comment on that. That’s what we did.
Book cover for “The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt”
It must be said, that we have a young and an old Humboldt, in this book, the old Humboldt back looks, so to speak, on his life. Now Humboldt is in my work room in London, watching a bit of sulking and complaining that I, The invention of nature”, at the time, Mexico would have given in the biography” far too little space – I have mentioned this in the book, only with a few sentences. About it have complained to some readers. This comment, we have placed, so to speak, Humboldt in the mouth. This is one of the few artistic liberties that we have taken. For me, it was important to stay historically accurate, but to capture also the personality of Humboldt. He had the reputation that he has blasphemed also. We have introduced a bit in this book.
The interview was conducted by Sabine Peschel.
Andrea Wulf Melche: The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt: A journey of discovery, with color illustrations throughout from Lillian., Translated by Gabriele Werbeck, C. Bertelmann, 2019, 272 pages, ISBN: 978-3-570-10350-0