The White Stork 

This illustration of a white stork was made by Jan Christiaan Sepp sometime in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century using ink and watercolor on paper. This wasn't just an act of technical rendering. Sepp used fine hatching and carefully controlled washes of pigment to give a sense of the bird’s texture, weight, and form. It’s a highly crafted image. Natural history illustrations like this are deeply rooted in empirical observation, but also in the skilled traditions of painting and printmaking. It’s worth considering the social context in which Sepp made this image. As a trained artist and engraver, he was employed to capture the natural world with scientific precision. In closing, appreciating the materials, the making process, and the social context can lead to a deeper understanding, moving beyond conventional views of fine art versus craft.