Parrot and Cockatoos against a Background of Lush Vegetation

For Gustave Doré watercolour was “an artistic shorthand of a special nature”. This study is a virtuoso demonstration of this shorthand. Around the red parrot touches of blue outline a group of cockatoos, recognisable by their crested crowns. The wet brush, tinted with a hint of green or grey, sketches other silhouettes with outstretched wings in a…