Orioles and Tanagers on a Guava, Brazilian Bird Print, Descourtilz, 1944

Orioles and tanagers print after Descourtilz, taken from the 1944 Rio de Janeiro edition of the Ornitologia Brasileira, where it appears as Estampa 46, printed in color by offset.

Three birds share a guava branch, its yellow-green fruit shown both whole and cut open to reveal the pink flesh and small seeds within. At the top, a bird with a blue-black head and a deep red throat and breast, its wings and back otherwise dark, perches on a bare stem above the fruit. To the right, a second bird, black overall with a small orange patch at the wing and a pale eye, perches closer to one of the ripe guavas. At lower left, a third bird with an orange-yellow head and breast, a black body and a white bar across the wing perches near the base of the branch. The guava's broad leaves and rounded fruit, one cut to show its interior, are rendered with the same careful attention given to the birds themselves.

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 orioles and tanagers 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, a small surface crease in the upper left and light edge wear; there is a tiny spot on the image panel. Please review the images for further condition details.