About this sheet
Blackbirds and marsh birds print after Descourtilz, dated 1944 and issued as Estampa 47 of the Ornitologia Brasileira, a color offset print from Jean-Théodore Descourtilz's paintings of Brazilian birds.
Four birds occupy a fruiting branch with small dark berries. At the top, a bird with a uniform dark blue-black body perches with its bill raised, looking upward. Below it, a second bird shows a black body and an orange-red head and nape, its bill pale and stout. At lower left, a third bird has a breast and belly washed in pink-red, a head streaked in black and white, and mottled brown wings, recalling the plumage pattern of open-country meadowlarks. At lower right, a fourth and smaller bird, olive-green with a small red crest and a lightly streaked breast, perches close to the fruiting twigs. The branch's leaves and small round berries are worked in the same careful manner used throughout the volume, giving each bird a distinct place within the composition.
The plate comes from the Ornitologia Brasileira ou História Natural das Aves do Brasil, notáveis por sua plumagem, canto e hábitos, issued in 1944 by Livraria Kosmos Editora of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. First published in French in the 1850s, the work appeared here in its first Portuguese edition, translated by Eurico Santos and limited to 1,315 copies, 1,000 plus 315 numbered. Each of its 48 color offset plates is captioned "Estampa" with its number and mounted on a toned card with a printed green ornamental border.
Descourtilz, a French painter and naturalist who lived from circa 1796 to 1855, traveled to Brazil in the late 1820s and devoted himself to painting its birds. His first work on the birds of Brazil appeared in 1834.
This blackbirds and marsh birds print after Descourtilz is decorative and strong in color, and works well framed on its own in a study or hallway or hung with other Brazilian bird prints from the same volume.
This plate is in good condition for its age. The mount shows ordinary age toning, with a few small spots and light wear to the edges; the image itself is clean. Please review the images for further condition details.
This is an original print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
