Mar 28 – Sep 13, 2020
Antje Majewski
The partridge (perdix perdix), 2020
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Das Rebhuhn (Perdix perdix), 2020
Oil sketch on canvas
Unique
30 × 40 cm
Artist’s signature on reverse
sold out
Antje Majewski’s painting is part of a planned series looking at endangered bird species. The Red List of endangered breeding birds ranges from the categories of ‘pre-warning’ to ‘in danger of extinction’ to ‘population extinct’. The partridge depicted in Majewski’s oil painting belongs to category 2, covering birds classified as ‘critically endangered’. With its orange-brown plumage, the partridge is a real master of deception; Majewski depicts it here surrounded by grassy undergrowth. By painting a portrait of the bird in its natural habitat, she makes reference to other artistic contexts in which animals appear, such as paintings of hunting trophies, photographs, or dioramas of natural history museums. Not least, Majewski’s work is a memorial to the partridge: ‘Intensified agricultural practices encroaching on their habitats, the shrinking of their food sources due to the use of pesticides, and the continued practice of hunting: all of this has contributed to the decline of the partridge population in Europe by 94%.’ (Source: NABU)