Plate 64: Two Partridges, a Wren, and Other Birds c. 1575 - 1580

Joris Hoefnagel made this watercolor and gouache on paper of two partridges, a wren, and other birds around 1575-1600. Here, the artist demonstrates a keen interest in naturalism. At this time, the Habsburg Empire had spread from Austria to the Netherlands. The new access to global trade routes created a flourishing merchant class with an interest in collecting and documenting the natural world. This rise of empirical observation coincided with the Protestant Reformation and with new forms of scientific inquiry, influencing the development of art. Hoefnagel and other artists were commissioned to make detailed paintings of plants, animals, and landscapes to record nature and present a vision of earthly paradise. The artist was employed by Emperor Rudolf II, who aimed to centralize all forms of knowledge. To understand the role of art at the time, scholars examine a wide range of historical sources such as scientific treatises, travelogues, and even the inventories of private collections. Art is always contingent on social and institutional contexts.