Striped Owl, Barn Owl and Pygmy Owl, Brazilian Bird Print, Descourtilz, 1944

Striped owl, barn owl and pygmy owl print after Descourtilz, dated 1944 and issued as Estampa 5 of the Ornitologia Brasileira, a color offset print from Jean-Théodore Descourtilz's paintings of Brazilian birds.

Three owls of differing size share an arrangement of interlocking branches. At the top, the largest bird shows long, upright ear-tufts and a rufous-orange facial disk narrowly rimmed in black around each eye; its body plumage is a dense rufous-brown, finely barred and streaked throughout. Beneath it, a second, paler owl has a heart-shaped white facial disk, a buff back finely speckled with dark spots, and a cream underside marked with small scattered flecks; its wings are held slightly raised, the blue-gray legs and feet gripping the branch just below the larger bird. At lower left, a much smaller owl without ear-tufts is perched on its own low branch, its plumage a mottled rufous-brown broken by pale streaks above each eye. The three birds are set against plain toned paper, the branches rendered only enough to give each bird a perch.

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 striped owl, barn owl and pygmy owl 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 and light wear to the edges and corners; the image itself is clean. 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.