Detlef Hartwig Zander – Studies of Birds

Working in the late 18th or early 19th Century, German artist Detlef Hartwig Zander created a series of beautifully detailed watercolor paintings based on engravings from the major natural history works of his time, for example Mark Catesby’s “Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands.”  In his watercolors, Zander adapted the works which inspired him in an original way, reducing the size, and executing the birds in a uniquely charming manner.  We believe these watercolor paintings were likely studies for a new and smaller scale anthology, since each bears a plate number which does not correspond to the plates in the original works.