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This 17th-Century Flemish Painting Held A Gnarly Bat Secret
Defector • • science
Key Points:
- Jan Brueghel the Elder's paintings from the early 1600s are notable for their scientific accuracy and depiction of exotic animals from different continents coexisting, reflecting his role as a court painter with access to extensive menageries.
- His 1611 painting "Air" features various bird species alongside bats, including a noctule bat shown carrying a bird in its mouth, which recent research suggests is the earliest visual evidence of bird-eating behavior in noctule bats.
- Conservation biologist Pedro Romero-Vidal and bat experts identified the depicted bats as greater noctules, known for preying on migrating songbirds, a behavior only recently confirmed by modern biologging technology.
- The study highlights how Renaissance art can provide valuable historical ecological insights, with Brueghel's detailed naturalistic style allowing species-level identification of animals in his works.
- While it is uncertain if Brueghel personally observed the bird-eating behavior, researchers believe his naturalist approach and access to live exotic animals likely informed the accurate portrayal in his painting.
