Barraband Pl. 16, La Perruche Ara, a gorge variee demonstrates the artist’s characteristic attention to detail and masterful rendering of the exotic species.
Capturing the intricacy and luminosity of the bird’s feathers, this 19th-century hand-colored engraving brings the bird to life on the page. Lavish your walls with this spectacular representation of natural history engraving.
About Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets
Illustrated by Jacques Barraband and authored by French naturalist Francois Levaillant, Histoire Naturelle Des Perroquets (1801) represents a high point in the history of ornithological art, and, at the time of its publication, was the world’s best-known monograph on parrots. In his engravings, the birds seem to glow on the paper, giving off an inner vitality that comes from a brilliant use of color, a near-perfect rendering of feathers, and a breathtaking mastery of the printing process.
About Jacques Barraband
French natural history illustrator Jacques Barraband was renowned for his rendering skills and ability to capture the life-like quality of an animal or plant on the page. He spent the early stages of his career as a craftsman working in the Gobelins tapestry factory and painting Sevres porcelain. Barraband later translated the technical acumen he had acquired from working in the crafts to his natural history illustrations.
For more information about Barraband Pl. 16, La Perruche Ara, a gorge variee, email us at [email protected] or check out our articles Casualties of Fashion: The Contentious History of Plume Plundering and What is an Engraving? A Guide to Intaglio Printmaking Techniques.