Skeleton of a Starling

1620-1621

Teodoro Filippo di Liagno, called Napoletano

Associated Names
Teodoro Filippo di Liagno

Artist, Italian, 1589 - 1629

This is an illustration of a bird skeleton on a tree branch. The drawing shows the detailed skeletal structure of a small bird, with emphasis on the ribs, wings, and leg bones. The bird is situated on a branch with few leaves in a natural setting. The background is a plain canvas with a Latin inscription at the top. The illustration showcases the fragile and complex skeletal system of the bird, highlighting the delicate bones and their arrangement for perching.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Funds from Virginia Mars

  • Dimensions

    plate: 14.2 × 9.5 cm (5 9/16 × 3 3/4 in.)
    sheet: 17.4 × 11.4 cm (6 7/8 × 4 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2023.5.9

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Chiarini, no. 432

  • Series Title

    Animal Skeletons

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Hill-Stone, Inc., South Dartmouth, MA); NGA purchase, 2023.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2025

  • Little Beasts: Art Wonder and the Natural World, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2025.

Bibliography

2007

  • Chiarini, Marco. Teodoro Filippo di Liagno detto Filippo Napoletano, 1589-1629: Vite e opere. Florence: Centro Di, 2007, no. 432.

Inscriptions

in plate, at top: Su licet egelidis fine noxa STORNO cicutis / Pascenis, ast hominum tu tamen arte cadis; in plate, at lower right: Storno; bottom right corner of sheet, in pen and ink by a later hand: 20

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