Fictitious Parrot

Nicolas Robert Fictitious Parrot Paris, circa 1670 Watercolor on vellum with gold fillet 23 3/4” x 20 1/2” framed (professionally framed with a beautiful gold leaf moulding with all archival materials and uv plexiglass) Nicolas Robert (1614-1685) was one of the greatest natural history artists of the 17th century, and his work established standards combining scientific accuracy and esthetic appeal that influenced generations of artists and won the respect and patronage of the French royal family. Robert created a vast, exquisite body of work for the French Crown. Along with other artists, Robert was commissioned by Gaston d’Orleans, brother of Louis XIII, to create watercolors of the rare plants and exotic birds he had assembled in his garden at Blois and the Ménagerie at Versailles. Robert’s talent was recognized quickly as being superior to that of other artists working for the royal family, and after Gaston d’Orleans’s death, he was quickly placed under the patronage of the Sun King