Books of Birds

In many cultures, we find books on a collection of birds, sometimes with a note of the subject’s physical features aside. The intention of creation or commission can be complex—scientific, artistic, educational, or simply for leisure.

Title: Niaopu (after Jiang Tingxi) by Zhang Weibang and Yu Sheng《仿蒋廷锡鸟谱》张为邦余省绘
Description: Jiang Tingxi was an earlier court artist to Zhang Weibang and Yu Sheng, an expert of fine-brush Huamiao hua. The Chinese art genre Huamiao hua (花鸟画), “flower-and-bird paintings,” generalizes paintings of flowers, birds, fish and insects. Jiang’s subjects were rendered in a bright palette, and with a delicate depiction of shadow and some hints of linera perspective. The sense of three-dimensionality in his works was from his study after western missionaries he encountered in the court. Niaopu, “book of birds,” was a popular book type for collection in the Qing court. Niaopu (after Jiang Tingxi) is a royal commission by Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799). Court artists Zhang Weibang and Yu Sheng facsimiled Jiang’s Niaopu into this book. Jiang’s original Niaopu contained 360 paintings but was unfortunately lost. Zhang and Yu’s facsimile was selective with an introduction of several new species, keeping a total number of 360 paintings. Each bird occupies two pages. On the recto depicted the bird in the fine-brush technique; on the verso, Emperor Qianlong commissioned his scholars to annotate the name, features, habits and characteristics, and quotations of the bird in classic texts like Shijing in both Mandarin and Manchu.

Media: Niaopu (after Jiang Tingxi)-Palace Museum Image; Niaopu (after Jiang Tingxi)-Blog of Li Shi

Title: Shotaika kacho gafu by Fukuai Gessai 《諸大家花鳥画譜》福井月齋编
Description: Kachoga (花鳥画) is Japanese import and adaption of Chinese Huaniao hua. It enjoys a great similarity in its subject matters and artistic approach with Chinese Huaniao hua. This woodblock printed book is a collection of Kachogo from numerous Janpanese artists, names not mentioned, edited by Fukuai Gessai (福井月齋). Species of birds included in the book are typical subjects in Kachoga, like phenix, peacock and crane, rendered in an expressive use of ink.; JHU Catalyst

Media: Shotaika Kacho Gafu-Peacocks and Phoenixes; Shotaika Kacho Gafu-Six Species

Title: The Birds of America by John James Audubon
Description: The American artist and naturalist John James Audubon depicted birds across America. His masterpiece The Birds of America was printed in early the 19th century. Audubon drew birds from life and the specimen, and he kept volumes of diaries recording his encounters with birds. For art and collection purpose, he shot the birds for take-home study and cooked his prey and subjects afterward, an ethic questioned. The paintings are fully colored, life-size. To fit into the page, a large-size bird has to bend itself into an unnatural posture. In addition to its artistic value, this collection shares great scientific importance—several birds joyfully living in Audubon’s paintings are now extinct species. More than an art piece, Audubon’s The Birds of America is a visual documentation.; JHU Catalyst