Open full image Pin

Depictions of a Grey-backed shrike of Northern India

Unknown

1820

paint

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Patna School of Painting Romanticism Early 19th Century Animal Bird

Dominant colour

Depictions of a Grey-backed shrike of Northern India is a 1820 paint by Unknown, a Patna School of Painting work, depicting Bird, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1820 · Patna School of Painting
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This painting shows a grey-backed shrike perched on a branch. The bird’s grey back and hooked beak stand out against a plain green background. Details like its sharp claws and alert posture feel almost lifelike. Artists often ignored such small birds in big paintings. But here, the shrike gets its own close-up. The soft brushwork makes its feathers look real enough to touch. See more bird art at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The story of this work

Overview

The artwork consists of illustrations of the Grey-backed shrike, a bird native to Northern India, created in 1820 by an unknown artist. The pieces were presented by Robert Scott Greenshields, who served in the Indian Civil Service in Bengal and Assam from 1879 to 1910, in 1929.

Read the full account in the museum source.