Plate 7: Four Birds of Prey on a Wooden Frame c. 1575 - 1580

Joris Hoefnagel made this watercolor and gouache painting of four birds of prey on vellum. A detail from a larger manuscript, it reflects the sixteenth-century encyclopedic interest in natural history. Made in the Habsburg Empire, the image would have been part of a tradition of courtly patronage of the sciences and the arts. Naturalistic representation became a way for artists to display their skill. But even more, the representation of nature became a demonstration of the patron’s dominion. The controlled conditions of a zoological garden became a means of organizing and mastering the natural world. Here, the artist tames the birds by depicting them perched on a man-made structure. The history of science, collections and illustrated books can tell us more about the cultural meanings attached to the natural world. The study of artistic patronage can reveal the role of visual representation in the construction of power.