Three Hummingbirds with Plant 

Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach created this watercolor of three hummingbirds with a plant in the 19th century. Reichenbach was director of the Dresden natural history museum, so this image gives us insight into the way natural history specimens were studied, classified and presented to the public in this period. Hummingbirds, native to the Americas, would have been viewed as exotic wonders in Europe, embodying the global reach of scientific inquiry during this time. The artist meticulously renders the birds’ iridescent plumage and their interaction with the plant, emphasizing the scientific desire to capture and categorize the natural world. However, the seemingly objective depiction of nature is always shaped by cultural values and institutional agendas. Historians and scientists work together, consulting museum archives, travelogues, and scientific publications to better understand the complex interplay between scientific observation, artistic representation, and the broader social context.