The Red Bellied Woodpecker (Picus Carolinus)

probably 1743/1762

Johann Michael Seligmann after Mark Catesby

Associated Names
Johann Michael Seligmann

Artist, German, 1720 - 1762

Mark Catesby

Artist After, English, 1679 - 1749

Two large woodpeckers are perched on a tree trunk surrounded by a large, green, heart-shaped leaf. The color palette includes shades of red, brown, green, and black, with the woodpeckers displaying distinctive red heads. The woodpecker on the left is positioned vertically with its head facing to the right, sitting against the tree trunk. The second woodpecker is tilted at an angle on the trunk, facing towards the first, just to the right side. Two small acorns are visible attached to the leaf's branch near the base of the birds.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and engraving with hand coloring on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green

  • Dimensions

    plate: 29.5 x 21.8 cm (11 5/8 x 8 9/16 in.)
    sheet: 27.1 x 44 cm (10 11/16 x 17 5/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1991.163.14

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green, Virginia; gift to NGA, 1991.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

lower left in plate: M.Catesby ad viv. del.; lower right in plate: I.M.Seligmann Sculp. et excud.; lower left in plate: PICVS ventre rubro. PIVERD a ventre rouge.; lower right in plate: PICVS medius quasi villosus. PIVERD velu.; lower center in plate: 38.; center left in plate: Quercus (forte) / Marilandica folio trifido / ad Sassafras accedente. Raji Hilt.; upper left in plate: Tab.XXXVIII.; upper center in plate: Der Specht mit dem rothen Leib.; upper right in plate: Der haarige Specht.

Wikidata ID

Q74894665

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