Cardinals and Finches, Brazilian Bird Print, Descourtilz, 1944

Cardinals and finches print after Descourtilz, Estampa 43 of the Ornitologia Brasileira, published in Rio de Janeiro in 1944 and printed in color by offset from Jean-Théodore Descourtilz's own painting.

Five birds are gathered on and around a spray of grass and a forked branch. At the top, a bird with a bright red crest, a gray back and a clean white belly perches on a pale yellow-green stem, its bill short and pale. Below and to the left, a second bird, warm reddish-brown with a red crown, perches on a blade of grass. To the right, a third bird shows a blue-gray head, a chestnut patch at the ear and a streaked brown-and-cream body. At lower left, a fourth bird, streaked buff and brown throughout, perches on a broad green leaf. At lower right, a fifth bird with an olive-green body, a blue-gray head and a face striped in black and white, its flank touched with yellow, completes the group. The grass and leaves are rendered simply, giving each bird a clear individual perch within the shared composition.

The Ornitologia Brasileira ou História Natural das Aves do Brasil, notáveis por sua plumagem, canto e hábitos was published by Livraria Kosmos Editora in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in 1944: the first Portuguese edition, translated by Eurico Santos, of a work first published in French in the 1850s, limited to 1,315 copies (1,000 plus 315 numbered). Its 48 color offset plates reproduce Descourtilz's own paintings of Brazilian birds, each captioned "Estampa" with its number and mounted on a toned card within a printed green ornamental border.

The artist, Jean-Théodore Descourtilz (circa 1796 to 1855), was a French painter and naturalist. He traveled to Brazil in the late 1820s, devoted himself to painting its birds, and published his first work on the birds of Brazil in 1834.

Decorative and strong in color, this cardinals and finches print after Descourtilz would frame well for a study, library or garden room, or sit alongside other Brazilian bird prints in a natural history collection.

This plate is in good condition for its age. The mount shows ordinary age toning, with a few small spots, including a small brown spot in the lower left, and light edge wear. Please review the images for further condition details.