1781
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Bohemian waxwing is a 1781 watercolor by Johann Heinrich Müntz, a Rococo painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This bird sits on a bare branch, its feathers gray and brown with a flash of yellow under its tail. Its crest is fluffy, and its beak is sharp. Nearby, a sprig of green leaves holds dark berries. The ground below is just a few scattered rocks. The artist wrote the title in Latin at the bottom—*Bohemian waxwing*—and dated it December 1781. The brushwork is soft, with no harsh lines. Look up Müntz, Johann Heinrich to see more of his careful bird paintings.
A watercolor and ink depiction of a Bohemian waxwing by Johann Heinrich Müntz, signed and dated December 1781, includes Latin and French inscriptions referencing historical ornithological sources such as Gesner, Aldrovandi, Willughby, Brisson, and Buffon. The work is annotated with multiple taxonomic and vernacular names for the bird, including "Ampelis Linnaei," "Lanius garrulus Bohemicus," and "Bombycilla Bohemica." Müntz’s rendering appears to draw from earlier naturalists while documenting the species' appearance in the late 18th century.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Johann Heinrich Müntz (1727–1798) was an Alsatian-Swiss painter and architect, known when working in England as John Henry Muntz.
See the richer artist page
