The Art of Bird Illustration

Bird illustration has been of interest since the Egyptian tomb painters included wildfowl to sustain the dead on their journey into the world beyond. Commentary in this book takes the form of a leisurely stroll through sites along the Nile Valley, Pompeii, medieval Europe and Baroque aviaries, stopping along the way to admire the birds portrayed by the most accomplished artists and ornithologists of their time. Including over 175 representations, all the plates in this work are reproduced in their original colors, and many of them are from specialized galleries and libraries otherwise inaccessible to a wide public.