[Dordrecht, not published, 1787]. (29.0 x 23.2 cm). Signed lower right in pencil: A Schouman 1787.

Aert - or Aart - Schouman (1710-1792) was a Dutch artist renowned for his portraits, landscape paintings, glass-engravings, and - above all - for his fine zoological illustrations. For instance, he provided all the bird illustrations for Aernout Vosmaer's Regnum Animale: Natuurkundige beschryving eener uitmuntende verzameling van zeldsaame gedierten (French edition: Description d'un Recueil Exquis d'Animaux Rares). The present illustration is archetypal Schouman: a balanced composition of three colourful birds, accurately depicted, sitting in a tree, with a detailed, realistic landscape in the distance. Here, the landscape is typically Dutch, with a windmill and a house with a bell-gable, bordering a wide, slow, placid river. Another (1746) watercolour by Schouman shows definitively the same windmill. A caption, written by Schouman, indicates that this is a tuff-grinding mill named "Welgelegen" (well-located) in Zwijndrecht, near Dordrecht, where Schouman lived most of his life. The water in front is the Oude Maas River (Old Meuse; a branch of the Rhine) Actually, Schouman’s drawing of this windmill even includes the same passing hay barge visible in this "finches" plate. All three finches occur in the Netherlands, but the canary has become rare. Works of Schouman are present in several Dutch and French museums, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and in the Institut Néerlandais in Paris (see Landswehr). Inscribed on verso, in two different old hands: A Schouman 1730 (incorrect), and A Schouman. Remnants of adhered paper on verso corners, otherwise clean, very good. Dumas, G. (ed.; 2017) Een Koninklijk Paradijs. Aert Schouman en de Verbeelding van de Natuur. Landwehr, 204; Sitwell, Fine Bird Books, p. 151 (for Vosmaer).