A Sparrowhawk

A Sparrowhawk (Italian: Uno sparviero) is a painting by Venetian artist Jacopo de' Barbari, probably made late in the 1510s, while he was working in the Netherlands towards the end of his life.

A Sparrowhawk
Italian: Uno sparviero
Artist	Jacopo de' Barbari
Year	1510 (1510) (circa, late 1510s)
Medium	Oil on oak panel
Movement	Renaissance
Subject	Sparrowhawk
Dimensions	17.8 cm × 10.8 cm (7.0 in × 4.3 in); 17.8 cm × 10.8 cm (7.0 in × 4.3 in)
Location	National Gallery, London
Accession	1916 (Layard Bequest)

Jacopo de' Barbari, A Sparrowhawk, National Gallery, London.

Painted in oils on an oak panel, it measures 17.8 cm × 10.8 cm (7.0 in × 4.3 in). It depicts a female sparrowhawk, perched on a wooden rail near the corner of a room, with shadows thrown onto the plain plastered wall behind. The grey-winged bird of prey has jesses with a bell attached to its legs. It may be a fragment of a larger work, now lost. It has been considered as an early example of a trompe-l'œil painting, using perspective and shadows to give the impression of a real bird occupying space, similar to The Goldfinch of Carel Fabritius.

It was acquired by the National Gallery, London in 1916, as part of the Layard Bequest.

References

• A Sparrowhawk, Jacopo de' Barbari, National Gallery