The Crested Flycatcher 1731 - 1743

Mark Catesby made this watercolor and graphite on paper, depicting a Crested Flycatcher, an insect-eating bird native to North America. Notice how the use of watercolor allows for delicate gradations of color, essential for capturing the subtle variations in the bird’s plumage and the surrounding foliage. The leaves are simplified in shape and delineated with subtle lines, which would have been painstaking work. The artist also included the plant the bird is perched on, with fruits, and their scientific names in Latin. It speaks to the scientific expeditions that were typical of this era, aimed at documenting and classifying the natural world. Catesby was an English naturalist who traveled extensively in the Americas. He made detailed observations and meticulously recorded his findings through his artwork. This piece straddles the line between scientific illustration and fine art, reflecting a period when the boundaries between disciplines were more fluid. It invites us to appreciate the intersection of art, science, and the natural world.