Moerasterne
1827-1838
John James Audubon was obsessed with capturing birds in mid-action, a radical departure from the stiff, profile portraits common in his time. Here, a Marsh Tern swoops dramatically against a serene blue sky, its wings spread wide in a dynamic dive towards a tiny dragonfly. To achieve these lifelike poses, Audubon often shot his subjects and propped them up with wires—a gruesome but effective method for creating such energy. This plate, engraved and hand-colored by Robert Havell in 1838, comes from his massive 'The Birds of America' project, a publication so large it required a custom 'double elephant' size paper.
- Technique
- hand-colored engraving
- Material
- paper
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