Daniele Durand (Dutch, 17th Century)
Group of Birds and Thistle
Gouache and watercolor with pencil on paper: app. 9 1/2” x 13 1/2”
Signed, lower left, ‘Daniele Durand - 1655’

This flawlessly drafted study is an excellent example of the 17th-century Northern European School of natural history painting. The artist, Daniele Durand, has given scrupulous attention to naturalistic depiction, in a manner that strongly recalls Albrecht Durer’s studies of animals. The birds are depicted in perfect detail, their coloring and plumage meticulously rendered, and the artist was particularly adept at endowing his subjects with a sense of textural softness. Though Durand was clearly concerned with capturing the precise physical characteristics of his subject, he has also bestowed this watercolor with a strong sense of animation, as the birds interact engagingly in the natural setting. The balance of scientific documentation and artistic composition makes this a particularly engaging work and a stunning example of an original watercolor from this period.

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