Jakob Christian Bergner (1812–1877) – Study of Three Birds, 1862

A finely observed mixed-media study of three dead birds suspended together from a small nail, including a woodcock at the right and two smaller birds. Bergner records the contrasting plumage with remarkable precision, from the woodcock’s warm, barred feathers to the darker wings and pale markings of the other birds. Fine penwork is combined with transparent washes and more opaque touches of colour, while the soft cast shadows give the composition a convincing sense of weight and depth against the otherwise unadorned paper.

Jakob Christian Bergner was born in Bern in 1812 and studied at the Polytechnic School and Academy of Fine Arts in Munich between 1832 and 1834. He began his career as a portrait painter but later concentrated primarily on natural-history subjects, becoming particularly accomplished in his depictions of butterflies, insects, fungi and other specimens. His detailed drawings of Swiss mushrooms for the pharmacist and mycologist Jakob Gabriel Trog were acquired by the Geneva government. Bergner exhibited regularly in Switzerland from 1830 until the later years of his career.

Signed and dated lower right: J. Bergner, 1862. The signature has been compared with documented examples of the artist’s work.

Medium: Mixed media on paper, probably watercolour, gouache and ink.

Dimensions: 24 x 32.5 cm