Black Stork in a Landscape

A stork stands on a low riverbank, much larger than the landscape behind it. Its body is a deep, glossy black, and its neck is white. Its long red legs end in toes spread carefully on the ground. The painter was working at a time when artists in India were making careful bird studies, often for European patrons interested in natural history. This painter brought a court artist’s skills to the job: precise outline, flat areas of color, and a strong sense of pattern in the feathers. The bird turns to look along its own beak, quiet and alert. A small, winding stream in the background gives you a sense of how far it is from water.

Look closely

1. Compare the black of the body with the black of the beak. Are they the same?
2. Look at the toes and how the weight sits on them.
3. Find the stream in the background. How small does the painter make the world compared with the bird?

While you sit

A large bird, standing perfectly still by water. Wait the way it waits.

Your seat in the galleries: a slim black iron bench on long red legs.