As an artist, who is also interested in aviaculture (the keeping of birds) I wanted to create a link about the combination of both.
I will start off by showing you a work of my own, a drawing of an Emerald Toucanette. A lot of people are not familiar with this kind of bird and think it is just a poorly drawn Toucan, but they are actually a much smaller bird from tropical South and Central America. This is a pen and ink drawing done on paper. I loved the style of the old explorers and did this quick sketch as an homage to them, it is entitled "Emerald Toucanette".
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Below we have my next exhibit. Birds have played an important role in folklore. This example comes from the Russian Folktale of the Firebird, which also inspired a work by the classical composer Igor Stravinsky. The artist is Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin, the work is entitled "Firebird". The bird looks like a peacock, who may very well have inspired the legends of the Firebird. I like it because it is a wonderful example of Eastern European Folk art, with vibrant colors. Although the exact date of the painting is unknown, the artist died in 1942.
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This is a painting from 1810 by Friedrich Overbeck, entitled "Portrait of Malers Franz Pforr". I find this painting excellent bird watching material, because it illustrates the keeping of birds as companions, possibly this is a bird of prey, who would have also been used for hunting purposes. It shows that the keeping if birds has been common throughout the ages in different forms.
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This is a wonderful example of older Chinese Art, the artist is Chou Fang but it comes from the end of the 8th century, during the time of the Tang Dynasty. It is called "Beauties wearing flowers". The bird is a crane of some sort. I believe that birds have inspired fashion throughout the ages, although this painting does not capture this, you will note the colors in many traditional garbs from the orient often mimic birds, as well many headdresses worldwide incorporate feathers.
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I find this piece very interesting because I cannot quite figure out what is going on with the male bird, that being the one on top. The artist is obviously trying to capture the natural setting, but has made a very unnatural pose in the attempt. Still it has a very nice nineteenth century charm about it. The artist is said to be Bowlder Sharpe, and the work is entitled "Lophorina superba".
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Birds have played a very important part in art, sometimes as the main subject, sometimes as additional interest. In turn they have played an important part in our daily lives. Bird watching is a hobby for many, and I encourage you to explore the opportunity to bird watch through artwork. All photos, with the exception of my own, were from Wikimedia.
