Large Woodpeckers, Brazilian Bird Print, Descourtilz, 1944

Large woodpeckers print after Descourtilz from the 1944 Ornitologia Brasileira: Estampa 20, a color offset print of Brazilian birds reproducing a painting by Jean-Théodore Descourtilz.

A tall, broken stump again provides the setting, this time for three notably large woodpeckers. At upper left, a bird with a tall red crest and a blue-black body marked with red perches on a short stub projecting from the timber, facing away from the main trunk. At the center of the composition, the largest bird is pale yellow, finely barred in black across the back and wings, with a tall, pointed yellow crest and a patch of red at the cheek; a small beetle is placed on the bark just below it. At lower left, a third bird shows a red head and crest, a body patterned in black and white with a white stripe down the throat, and dark, barred wings, clinging to the stump below and to the left of the yellow bird. The stump is rendered in the same brick-textured, knot-marked manner used elsewhere in the volume's woodpecker plates, with small holes and patches of exposed pale wood suggesting old excavation.

The plate comes from the Ornitologia Brasileira ou História Natural das Aves do Brasil, notáveis por sua plumagem, canto e hábitos, issued in 1944 by Livraria Kosmos Editora of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. First published in French in the 1850s, the work appeared here in its first Portuguese edition, translated by Eurico Santos and limited to 1,315 copies, 1,000 plus 315 numbered. Each of its 48 color offset plates is captioned "Estampa" with its number and mounted on a toned card with a printed green ornamental border.

Descourtilz, a French painter and naturalist who lived from circa 1796 to 1855, traveled to Brazil in the late 1820s and devoted himself to painting its birds. His first work on the birds of Brazil appeared in 1834.

This large woodpeckers print after Descourtilz is decorative and strong in color, and works well framed on its own in a study or hallway or hung with other Brazilian bird prints from the same volume.

This plate is in good condition for its age. The mount shows ordinary age toning, with a few small spots, light wear along the left binding edge and small nicks to the lower edge. Please review the images for further condition details.

This is an original print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.