A Perch of Birds

Twenty-four finches, varying in pose and color, are perched in a row. This watercolor is a variant of one of the artist's most popular subjects, "Un bâton de cage." Another variation of this composition in the Lucas Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art is inscribed: "Giacomelli a Mr. Lucas affecteux souvenir d'une aquarelle." Henri Beraldi wrote of this artist, "Giacomelli is the Van Huysum [Jan Van Huysum, 1682-1749, Dutch flower-painter] of tiny birds, tender and ravishing, which give the impression of being pensive. The bird is to Giacomelli what the cat is to Lambert [Louis-Eugène Lambert, 1825-1900, French painter who specialized in cat subjects]. A respectable bird must be a Giacomelli bird; A non-Giacomelli bird is a false bird," (H. Beraldi, "Les Graveurs du XIXE siècle," Paris, 1885-92, 7:105).