European Scops-Owl (Otus scops), Anselmus Boëtius de Boodt, 1596 - 1610
brush, h 281mm × w 156mm More details
De Boodt could study many live animals from faraway places in the menagerie (zoo) of Rudolf II in Prague. Moreover, stuffed animals could be found in the emperor’s famous Kunstkammer. Yet many drawings in the albums were not made from direct observation of nature, but were ‘borrowed’ from illustrations by other artists. Could the artist of this Scops-Owl have been looking at a live or stuffed specimen? Or did he copy it from another work of art?
