Ortolaan (Emberiza hortulana) c. 1580 - 1590

Jacques de Fornazeris made this etching of an ortolan, a small songbird, in the early 17th century in France. This image participates in a long tradition of natural history illustration, gaining popularity at this time as European colonial projects brought artists into contact with exotic flora and fauna. But it also speaks to the social history of food: the ortolan was a popular delicacy among the aristocracy. It was traditionally force-fed while kept in a dark box before being roasted and eaten whole. Fornazeris’s print is an early example of an ecological aesthetic, where images of nature reflect not only scientific interests but also social practices and elite power structures. Through historical research, we can look at popular cookbooks, court records, and early ornithological texts to understand the cultural life of this little bird. What seems like a simple illustration opens up a complex world of natural history, social class, and culinary practice.