Artwork

Plate 33: A Pair of Bohemian Waxwings, a Shelduck(?), and a Brant Goose with a Ginger Plant

Plate 33: A Pair of Bohemian Waxwings, a Shelduck(?), and a Brant Goose with a Ginger Plant is a gouache drawing by the Renaissance artist Joris Hoefnagel. It dates from 1594 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Created circa 1594, this miniature combines watercolor and gold on parchment to depict a small group of birds beside a ginger plant.

About this work

Overview

Created circa 1594, this miniature combines watercolor and gold on parchment to depict a small group of birds beside a ginger plant. The composition includes two Bohemian waxwings perched on a leafy branch, a shelduck of uncertain identification, and a brant goose standing in shallow water, all rendered with meticulous detail characteristic of late‑sixteenth‑century manuscript illumination.

Subject & Meaning

The work presents a naturalistic study of four waterfowl, emphasizing their distinctive plumage and posture. The inclusion of a ginger plant adds a botanical element, linking the avian subjects to the broader interest in cataloguing flora and fauna that was emerging among scholars and collectors of the period.

Technique & Style

Hoefnagel employed layered watercolor washes, building colour through glazing, while the application of gold paint highlights feathers and foliage, lending a decorative sheen. The precise line work and careful rendering of textures reflect the artist’s background in illuminated manuscripts and his commitment to observational accuracy.

History & Provenance

Joris Hoefnagel, a Flemish painter noted for natural history illustration, produced this plate as part of a larger series of ornithological studies. It likely originated in a codex or printed volume on nature, as indicated by Latin captions framing the image, and represents one of the final examples of the manuscript illumination tradition before the rise of printed scientific atlases.

Context

The piece sits at the intersection of topographical art and the nascent genre of floral still‑life in northern Europe. By integrating detailed bird studies with a cultivated plant, Hoefnagel anticipates the systematic botanical and zoological plates that would dominate scientific publishing in the seventeenth century.