Black Stork in a Landscape explained

Black Stork in a Landscape is an 18th-century watercolor painting of a woolly-necked stork. The painting, which is currently in the collection the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was commissioned by Claude Martin as part of a series of 658 ornithological paintings.

Description

The painting depicts a Woolly-necked stork (Ciconia episcopus), a large wading bird that includes the Indian subcontinent in its range.^[1] Done in watercolor on European paper, the work was produced by an unknown Indian artist, in what is known as the Company style. The work is traceable to a series of 658 paintings of birds that the French-born Major-General Claude Martin commissioned for his private collection.^{[2] [3]}

The way in which the painting is executed implies that the anonymous author was familiar with the Woolly-necked stork; notably, the stork is shown to be crossing its right foot over its left, the standard posture of a stork.

Notes and References

1. Hancock, James A.; Kushlan, James A.; Kahl, M. Philip (1992). Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World. London, U.K.: Academic Press. pp. 81–86. .
2. Web site: http://www.eslamprey.com/McInnis_Matz/Matz_pp49-64.pdf. https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222647/http://www.eslamprey.com/McInnis_Matz/Matz_pp49-64.pdf. dead. 2007-09-27. 2007-09-27. 2018-05-25.
3. Web site: Black Stork in a Landscape The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. en. 2018-05-25.