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Paradise widow and sparrow bird

Blatt: 370 x 252 mm

Physical Description: Watercolour, over black chalk or charcoal, partially gone over with brush and gum (arabic?)

Inventory Number: 3002

Object Number: 3002 Z

Status: Request for presentation in the study room of the Prints and Drawings Department

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About the Work

Aert Schouman executed his bird and mammal watercolours after models in the collections of natural curiosities widespread in the Netherlands in the eighteenth century. He thus catered not only to his customers’ interest in natural history but also to the pleasure they took in high-quality artistic depictions. The two skilfully arranged birds actually come from two different continents – the long-tailed paradise whydah (top) from Africa, and the red-cowled cardinal (bottom) from South America.