A parrot and a tyrant flycatcher on branch by Abraham Meertens

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A parrot and a tyrant flycatcher on branch by Abraham Meertens

About the Item

Abraham Meertens was born in 1757 in Middlebourg. He was an important representative of the revival of the Flemish tradition in the late 18th century. Meertens entered the Guild in 1770 and was also one of the founders of the Academy, of which he became director. The best of Meertens’ ôeurve is seen in his landscapes, still-lifes and animal and bird pictures, such as the one shown here. In this gênre, Meertens emulates examples of Snyders, Fyt, and other famous Flemish masters of the 17th century. As a tribute to the dramatic spirit of his age, Meertens also executed compositions dedicated to the human struggle and the forces of nature as a hunt, often inserted in a tempestual landscape. Here also, in Meertens work, one perceives the models of 17th century artists, such as Potter, Wouwerman and others, but not as directly as in his still-lifes, animal and bird paintings.

In this charming drawing, a tyrant flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus), a bird from Central and South America, is depicted at the top of the composition, and, at the lower part of the composition, a more generic parrot, combining characteristic traits of various kinds of parrots, aras, and cacatoos. Such combination of meticulously realistic and the surreal, rendered in a very convincing manner, due primarily to its’ naturalistic character, was widespread in the 18th century. As a result of the large diffusion of scientific illustration, the artist could take motifs for more free interpretation. Drawings, such as this folio, were collected not only by naturalists (it is widely proved by a presence on inscription on many of such folios, indicating Latin and colloquial names of a species and not the name of a painter) but also by art amateurs.

This drawing of Meertens is a precious and superb example of this important tradition, rooted in the Italian painting of early 16th century, where, in the workshop of Raphael, and especially work by his collaborator Giovanna da Udine, this type of semi-scientific and semi-fanciful drawings of animal, plants, shells and other naturalia was first practiced. Flemish masters, who created spectacular examples of still-lifes in European art, inherited the tradition in the 17th century. In the 18th century, as in this drawing, the tradition was enriched by a calm clearness of vision and systematic scientific approach, which arrived with the Enlightenment.

Dimensions:
Height: 12.125 in (30.8 cm)Width: 9.125 in (23.18 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Pen,Watercolor
Period:
18th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
1757-1823
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: WOP 18-621stDibs: U090303854367