1830
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Bay-winged Bunting is a 1830 ink by Robert Havell Jr., a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This picture shows a small bird perched on a rock, surrounded by cacti and bright yellow flowers. The bird has a plain brown body with some darker stripes, and the cacti have spiky green pads. The flowers are soft and pale yellow, with a few buds still closed. The tiny details in the feathers and cactus spines were made using fine lines, a trick called cross-hatching. This kind of careful drawing was common in old science books to show nature exactly. Try looking up cross-hatching to see how artists use lines to make shadows.
The Havell family of Reading, Berkshire, England, included a number of notable engravers, etchers and painters, as well as writers, publishers, educators, and musicians.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
