Artwork
Side view of a bat with wings folded
Side view of a bat with wings folded is a watercolor work on paper by the Impressionist artist Beatrix Potter. It dates from 1886 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This watercolor, executed around 1886, depicts a bat observed from the side with its wings folded tightly against its body.
About this work
Many kids know her for the Peter Rabbit books, but she also made many scientific-style drawings like this one.
Beatrix Potter painted a bat with its wings folded in around 1886. She used watercolour, a medium she often worked in for her animal studies. Her early sketches show a real interest in nature, with notes on the species.
This drawing of a bat shows Potter’s careful eye for detail. Many kids know her for the Peter Rabbit books, but she also made many scientific-style drawings like this one.
Find more bat studies by Beatrix Potter at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
This watercolor, executed around 1886, depicts a bat observed from the side with its wings folded tightly against its body. The composition is rendered in a compact format, focusing on the animal’s anatomy rather than narrative context. It exemplifies the artist’s early commitment to observing and recording wildlife with precision, a practice that predated her later fame as a children’s author.
Subject & Meaning
The work presents a solitary bat, rendered with attention to its distinctive limbs, tail, and facial features. Accompanying notes in the artist’s journal reveal a curiosity about the creature’s locomotion and feeding habits, suggesting the drawing served both as a visual record and a study of the bat’s biological characteristics.
Technique & Style
Executed in watercolor, the piece employs fine washes and delicate line work to convey the texture of the bat’s fur and the subtle shading of its wings. The restrained palette and precise detailing reflect a scientific illustration approach, emphasizing clarity and accuracy over decorative embellishment.
History & Provenance
The drawing belongs to a series of bat studies dated between 1884 and 1887, created during the artist’s teenage years. It entered the Linder Bequest collection, which houses several of her early natural history sketches, before being transferred to the Victoria and Albert Museum where it remains accessible for research.
Context
Created while the artist was still a student, the work aligns with a broader Victorian interest in natural history and specimen collection. Her personal journals document keeping a pet bat and experimenting with its preservation, situating this watercolor within a hands‑on investigative practice common among amateur naturalists of the period.
Artist & collection
Artist
Helen Beatrix Heelis (née Potter; 28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( BEE-ə-triks), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist.
