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Artwork

Plate 23: A Brandt's Cormorant with a Juvenile Crowned Night Heron

Joris Hoefnagel , 1594

Plate 23: A Brandt's Cormorant with a Juvenile Crowned Night Heron 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:Upper center in red/violet ink: FACTVS SVM SICVT NICTICORAX IN DOMICILIO / psal.101. (“I am like a night raven in the house.” Psalms 101:7) (Latin Vulgate Bible); center right in (gold?): XXIII.; birds in image numbered .1. and .2., in red ink Facing page: Upper center in black ink: Verba puellarum foliis lemora caducis: / Irritaq[ue] ut visum est, [veritas], et unda ferunt.; lower center in black ink: Stryx nocturna sonans, et Vespertilio stridunt / Noctua lucifuga cucubat in tenebris.

About this work

Overview

Created circa 1594, this watercolor and gold‑paint illustration on parchment portrays a Brandt’s cormorant and a juvenile crowned night heron. The birds are set against a minimal backdrop of water and sky, with the cormorant floating and the heron perched on a bare branch amid dry foliage.

Subject & Meaning

The composition serves as a scientific observation, pairing two waterbirds to highlight their contrasting forms: the dark, expansive wings of the cormorant against the smaller, sharp‑beaked heron. The inclusion of Latin labeling underscores its function as a study rather than purely decorative art.

Technique & Style

Executed with fine watercolor washes and delicate gold leaf accents along the margins, the work reflects the meticulous draftsmanship typical of late‑Renaissance naturalists. The artist employs glazing to achieve subtle tonal variations, while the gold framing lends the piece an illuminated‑manuscript quality.

History & Provenance

Attributed to Joris Hoefnagel, a Flemish draftsman noted for his contributions to natural history illustration and manuscript illumination, the drawing belongs to the later phase of his career when he was among the last practitioners of illuminated book art in northern Europe.

Context

Hoefnagel’s oeuvre bridges the decorative tradition of illuminated manuscripts and the emerging genre of independent floral and fauna studies. This piece exemplifies his role in the shift toward detailed, observational depictions of wildlife that informed early scientific documentation.