"Flight of the Venerated Pheasant"

The Reeves's pheasant or vénéré pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) is a species native to the mountains of central China, introduced to Europe for hunting. The male is distinguished by scaled grey-and-russet plumage and above all by an exceptionally long barred tail — capable of exceeding two metres in old males, the longest of any bird in the world after the birds of paradise.

The vertical composition was chosen precisely to showcase this tail — it occupies the lower half of the painting, unfurling in a graceful curve downward while the bird beats its wings in the upper section. It is flight that reveals the vénéré pheasant in all its amplitude: on the ground, the tail drags; in the air, it opens and traces a trajectory. The warm ochre wash background sets off the silver-grey plumage without weighing down the composition.