1594
gouache
vellum
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Plate 15: A Bear and a Lynx(?) is a 1594 gouache by Joris Hoefnagel, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This image shows a bear and a small wildcat-like animal standing near each other on a patch of grass. Above them, two plants with leaves and nuts grow from the top edge of the circle. The bear is sniffing the ground, while the cat watches sideways. The whole scene is framed in a round shape with a light background and gold paint around the edges. The small cat might actually be a lynx, but it’s drawn a little differently than real ones. The plants look like they’re floating above the animals, which is unusual for a normal landscape. Look up watercolor, glazing to see how artists built up colors like this.
Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542 – 24 July 1601) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant.
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