Plate 34: Bird of Paradise with Mereganser(?) and Grebe(?) c. 1575 - 1580

This is Plate 34: Bird of Paradise with Mereganser(?) and Grebe(?), made by Joris Hoefnagel around 1600. The composition, contained within a delicate oval frame, presents three carefully rendered birds against a pale aquatic backdrop. The bird of paradise floats above the water, while two waterfowl occupy the lower half of the frame. Hoefnagel’s work here utilizes naturalism to achieve a sense of both scientific accuracy and aesthetic beauty. His formal arrangements serve to classify and examine the natural world through art. The positioning of the birds is notable: the bird of paradise is almost ethereal, while the waterfowl are rendered with precise detail. This contrast is crucial in understanding how Hoefnagel's art engages with contemporary perceptions of nature and knowledge. Ultimately, Hoefnagel’s formal choices invite us to consider how the arrangement and depiction of these creatures—through line, form, and composition—reflect a period grappling with new ways of seeing and categorizing the world. It presents nature not just as something to be observed, but as a system to be understood and visually documented.