Folio recto: Blank; verso: Two Perched Birds and One in Flight c. 18th century

Editor: This sheet, "Two Perched Birds and One in Flight" by Jean-Baptiste Oudry, is so delicate! The birds feel weightless, like little thoughts taking flight. What draws your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: It whispers possibilities, doesn't it? Oudry lets us glimpse the ephemeral nature of observation itself. The birds are studies, yes, but also fleeting moments captured in ink and watercolor. Is it a scientific record, or a flight of fancy? Editor: Both, perhaps? I love that ambiguity! Curator: Me too! It's a reminder that art, like life, exists in the liminal spaces. What an insightful encounter!