Goshawk

Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe 1901 - 1979

Summary

This detailed print depicting a Goshawk against a rural background is striking because of the precision and attention to detail used to render it. Fine hatching is used to create subtle shifts between light and shade and to show different textures and details. The Goshawk is at the centre of the composition and it is seated on a wooden chair back with a cord attaching it by the foot to the chair. The Goshawk is seen at a slight angle as it turns its head slightly to the right. Every single feather is carefully rendered from the smaller, more delicate feathers around its eyes, to the speckled feathers at its breast or the long tail feathers that come down alongside the chair. Behind the Goshawk an equal measure of care has been taken to depict the surrounding foliage. In the lower third of the composition there is much grassier foliage with long narrow leaves and a few narrow flower stems. Above this in the upper two thirds there are much broader leaves that fill the space with large flowers growing in clusters. There are three clusters of flowers depicted, one in the top left hand corner, another lower down on the left hand side, and the third just below the top right hand corner. These flowers have curved petals and long stamen.