Plate 123 Black & Yellow Warblers 

This is Plate 123, 'Black & Yellow Warblers' by John James Audubon. It’s made using a combination of watercolor, graphite, and possibly some pastel, all applied to paper. Consider how Audubon created this image. The thinness of the watercolor allows for a great deal of detail, crucial for capturing the nuances of the birds' plumage and the surrounding foliage. The graphite underdrawing would have provided a structural foundation, while pastel may have been used to add soft, subtle highlights, bringing the image to life. Audubon was working at a time when scientific illustration was crucial for understanding the natural world. He would have relied on printmaking to disseminate his works. This process demanded a level of skill, patience, and collaboration, involving not just the artist but also the engravers and printers who translated Audubon's vision into a reproducible format, a pre-photography means of mass production. The creation of prints like this was a labor-intensive process. The social and economic context of printmaking is an important part of Audubon’s work, and the images were intended for a specific market of educated and affluent consumers who were fascinated by the natural world and the burgeoning field of ornithology.