Parrotlets and Small Parrots, Brazilian Bird Print, Descourtilz, 1944

Parrotlets and small parrots print after Descourtilz, dated 1944 and issued as Estampa 11 of the Ornitologia Brasileira, a color offset print from Jean-Théodore Descourtilz's paintings of Brazilian birds.

Four small parrots occupy a flowering branch hung with long green seed pods and a spray of yellow and pink blossom. At upper right a small, entirely green bird with blue in the wing perches directly on one of the pods, its bill pale. To the left, a second green bird shows a dark blackish cap and a white patch at the cheek, with a touch of blue at the tip of the tail. Lower in the composition, a third bird has a blackish-gray head broken by yellow patches at the cheek, a green body, and red beneath the tail, shown at an angle as though climbing along the branch. At lower right, a fourth and upright bird is marked with a red forecrown and a patch of blue at the shoulder, its long tail green shading to blue. The branch itself, with its pinnate leaves, flowers and pods, is drawn with as much care as the birds, filling most of the plate.

The plate comes from the Ornitologia Brasileira ou História Natural das Aves do Brasil, notáveis por sua plumagem, canto e hábitos, issued in 1944 by Livraria Kosmos Editora of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. First published in French in the 1850s, the work appeared here in its first Portuguese edition, translated by Eurico Santos and limited to 1,315 copies, 1,000 plus 315 numbered. Each of its 48 color offset plates is captioned "Estampa" with its number and mounted on a toned card with a printed green ornamental border.

Descourtilz, a French painter and naturalist who lived from circa 1796 to 1855, traveled to Brazil in the late 1820s and devoted himself to painting its birds. His first work on the birds of Brazil appeared in 1834.

This parrotlets and small parrots print after Descourtilz is decorative and strong in color, and works well framed on its own in a study or hallway or hung with other Brazilian bird prints from the same volume.

This plate is in good condition for its age. The mount shows ordinary age toning, with a few small spots and light wear to the edges; there are a few tiny specks on the image panel. Please review the images for further condition details.