Plate 114 White-crowned Sparrow 

Editor: Here we have "Plate 114 White-crowned Sparrow" by John James Audubon. It's a print drawing, probably from the 19th century, with watercolor on paper. It's lovely and delicate. What strikes me most is how perfectly balanced the composition is. What do you see when you look at this? Curator: I observe the careful construction of line and color. Notice the strategic placement of the branch, leaves, and berries. How the dark berries contrast with the paler green foliage creating a rhythm, leading the eye across the picture plane and ultimately directing focus on the white-crowned sparrow perched upon the branch. The bird’s plumage, a careful arrangement of tonal variation, itself echos and is therefore symbiotic with the botanical elements in its compositional surrounding. Do you agree? Editor: Yes, absolutely! It’s like the sparrow is visually 'anchored' by those berries, creating a focal point. But beyond just balance, does the plant itself contribute to our understanding of the piece? Curator: Intrinsically. The branch, laden with fruit, visually props the bird. Semiotically it speaks to ideas around notions of both abundance and perhaps a dependence upon its ecological surrounds. Audubon meticulously renders the details of both bird and botany allowing us to recognize a formal interconnectedness between animal and organic forms, and also simultaneously create a beautiful image. Editor: I never thought about it that way! Looking at the details – the textures, the careful lines – it all works together. The framing is very deliberate. Curator: Precisely. One can discern a deep analysis through formal arrangement as well as symbolic representation within Audubon’s placement of each individual element within his ornithological study. Editor: This gives me a totally new appreciation for it. I was looking at it aesthetically, but the depth of the formal construction creates such a powerful effect. Curator: Indeed, it is in understanding the arrangement and manipulation of form that the depth is found and can be extrapolated from the canvas. Editor: Well, I'll certainly view Audubon with different eyes now. Thank you.