Who painted Plate 57: Scarlet Macaw with Two Smaller Green Parrots?

Plate 57: Scarlet Macaw with Two Smaller Green Parrots was painted by Joris Hoefnagel in 1576.

Where can I see Plate 57: Scarlet Macaw with Two Smaller Green Parrots?

Plate 57: Scarlet Macaw with Two Smaller Green Parrots is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is Plate 57: Scarlet Macaw with Two Smaller Green Parrots?

Plate 57: Scarlet Macaw with Two Smaller Green Parrots is associated with Renaissance.

Artwork

Plate 57: Scarlet Macaw with Two Smaller Green Parrots

Joris Hoefnagel , 1576

Plate 57: Scarlet Macaw with Two Smaller Green Parrots is a gouache drawing by the Renaissance artist Joris Hoefnagel. It dates from 1576 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

This painting shows a bright red macaw perched on a branch with two small green parrots beside it.

This painting shows a bright red macaw perched on a branch with two small green parrots beside it. The colors pop against a plain white background. Every feather looks real, even the soft shadows under the macaw’s wings.

Joris Hoefnagel made this in 1576, over 450 years ago. He worked in watercolor, layering colors to make them glow. Artists still study how he mixed gold paint for the macaw’s details.

Check out another Hoefnagel, Joris at the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Overview

Executed in 1576, this sheet forms part of Joris Hoefnagel’s meticulous natural-history studies. Watercolor and gold pigment applied to prepared parchment record a scarlet macaw accompanied by two smaller green parrots. The absence of extraneous setting concentrates attention on plumage, beak, and claw, revealing the artist’s commitment to observational fidelity.

Subject & Meaning

The composition isolates three tropical birds against an unadorned ground, emphasizing chromatic contrast and anatomical precision. While the scarlet macaw dominates, the flanking green parrots introduce scale and variety. Such imagery served both scientific documentation and decorative display, reflecting Renaissance curiosity about exotic fauna.

Technique & Style

Hoefnagel layered translucent watercolor washes to model feathers, reserving gold paint for highlights along wing edges and beak. Shadows beneath the wings are softly diffused, avoiding hard outlines. This approach anticipates later still-life conventions in Northern Europe by merging scientific illustration with refined pictorial effects.

History & Provenance

Created in the late sixteenth century, the sheet originates from Hoefnagel’s broader project of natural-history illumination. It remained within manuscript collections until dispersed in the modern era. Subsequent ownership and exhibition histories remain fragmentary, though the work is now recognized as a key example of early modern ornithological art.

Context

During the 1570s, European courts and scholars amassed cabinets of curiosities, blending art and science. Hoefnagel’s images responded to this demand, offering visual records of species newly imported from the Americas. His parchment studies bridged medieval illumination and emerging genres of still life and natural-history illustration.