A Male Teal 1624 - 1680

"A Male Teal" was made by Johann Jakob Walther in the 17th century with pen and black ink, watercolor, and gouache. During Walther’s time, scientific illustration was emerging as a discipline, reflecting the Enlightenment’s growing interest in observation and classification. Yet, this detailed study of a teal exceeds the purely scientific. Walther’s delicate rendering brings an aesthetic and emotional dimension to the work, highlighting the bird’s exquisite plumage. This image exists in a long tradition of representing the animal kingdom, from cave paintings to Audubon. What does it mean to isolate and examine a single creature with such care? There is something about this particular teal—the texture of its feathers, the curve of its neck—that invites us to reflect on our relationship with the natural world. It encourages a sense of wonder but also implies an act of possession through observation.