Artwork

Plate 21: Swamp Hen and Woodcock with a Streaked Rosefinch, a Finch, and Oak Galls

Plate 21: Swamp Hen and Woodcock with a Streaked Rosefinch, a Finch, and Oak Galls is a gouache drawing by the Renaissance artist Joris Hoefnagel. It dates from 1594 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Inscription: Inscribed:Center right in (gold?): XXI.; birds in image numbered .1., .2., .3., and .4., in red ink; tree nut on branch numbered .5., in red ink Facing page: Upper center in black ink: Nomen habet magni volucris tam parva gigantis: / Et nomen Prasini Porphyrionis habet.; lower center in red/violet ink: Excelsus super omnes gentes Dominus: et super / COELOS gloria eius. ps: 112. ("The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the heavens.” Psalms 112:4) (Latin Vulgate Bible)

About this work

Overview

Created circa 1594, this watercolor and gold‑painted illustration on parchment depicts a swamp hen, a woodcock, a streaked rosefinch, a finch and several oak galls. The work is attributed to Joris Hoefnagel, a Flemish artist noted for his meticulous natural‑history studies and miniature painting.

Subject & Meaning

The composition assembles a small group of birds alongside botanical elements, presenting a study of species that would have been of interest to collectors of natural curiosities. By juxtaposing avian and plant specimens, the image functions both as a visual catalogue and as an aesthetic arrangement of nature’s diversity.

Technique & Style

Executed in fine watercolor washes enriched with touches of gold leaf, the piece demonstrates Hoefnagel’s precise draftsmanship and his skill in rendering texture, feathers, plumage and the rough surface of oak galls are rendered with delicate line work and subtle tonal variation typical of late‑Renaissance manuscript illumination.

History & Provenance

The drawing belongs to a series of plates produced by Hoefnagel for a natural‑history manuscript that circulated among aristocratic patrons in the Low Countries. It survived the transition from illuminated codex to printed book, later entering museum collections as part of a broader assemblage of his scientific illustrations.

Context

Hoefnagel worked at a time when the study of flora and fauna was increasingly linked to art, bridging the gap between scientific observation and decorative painting. His output contributed to the emergence of floral still‑life as a distinct genre in northern Europe during the late sixteenth century.