THE ARTIST AND THE BIRD 



CHAPTER XIII 



Negi^ect in the Past. Modern Artists. The Work of 

 Mr. a. Thorburn. Colour and Form in Bird Life Japan- 

 ese Bird Portraiture. The Artistry of Nature. Re- 

 production OF Colours in Nature. 



Of all the subjects of art the bird seems to have 

 been one of the most neglected. The human 

 figure, a variety of types from the mammalian 

 world, mountains, trees, and flowers have all 

 attracted the artist from time immemorial. 

 But the bird, often exquisite alike in colour and 

 form, instinct with life, and capable of the most 

 varied and charming expression, has constantly 

 been left out in the cold. It has been said that 

 the English artist, at any rate, attempted only 

 the heron and wild duck, and these he merely 

 threw in as accessories to his landscape, and 

 rarely troubled to draw or colour accurately. 



In all the older works of Art, the different 

 mammalian types may be distinguished with 

 certainty. But we may look in vain for draw- 

 ings that depict the characteristic differences 

 between the grey linnet and the greenfinch, 

 or between the nightingale and the robin. 



So it may fairly be said that although the value 

 of the bird for the more formal purpose of decora- 

 tion has always been recognised, it is only within 

 comparatively recent years that our avifauna 

 has been considered worthy of being made the 

 main theme of a picture. Now-a-days, however, 



135 



