Parrot (Macaw) from the Left. Study from a Former Sketchbook, c. 1883

This nature study of a parrot belongs to a group of 15 drawings in which Ernst Klimt (1864–1892) captured a macaw and a small parrot. Almost all of these bird studies, which were once part of one of Klimt’s sketchbooks that was subsequently divided into individual sheets, are now owned by the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Only the present work belongs to the Leopold Museum. The original sketchbook contained 36 drawings, 27 of which are kept today at the archives of the University of Applied Arts Vienna and nine at the Leopold Museum. The works on paper show nature studies of roses and parrots, as well as copies of paintings from the picture gallery and armaments from the weapons collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. In the present bird study, the artist captured the bird’s plumage with swift, confident strokes and invested some parts, such as the eye and claws, with great focus and sharpness.

Text Leopold Museum