Phoenix dactylifera

Masseti, Marco, 2021, The flight of the shrike. The ornithological representation in the Baptism of Christ (1470 - 1475 c.) by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, Natural History Sciences 8 (2), pp. 59-64 : 62-63

Phoenix dactylifera L. (cf. Bircher, 1990), although in a heavily stylized version.

In the attempt to make the scene set in the unfamiliar Palestinian landscape more realistic, the artist enriched the painting with some exotic details, such as rare and unusual biological elements. In the case of the palm tree, however, he could not have been inspired by a living individual because this botanical genus was not to be found in 15 th century Tuscany. Thus, the manifest artistic stylisation of the plant suggests that its image was not depicted from life, but it was probably inspired by naturalistic repertories circulating in the workshops of the Florentine artists of the time (cf. Masseti, 2017).

For the record, the figure of the bird flying among the leaves of the palm tree had already been noted by Natali (1998b), which in any case defines it as: “[...] almost transparent and of poor workmanship” ( Fig. 4 ). However, the artistic description of this bird is so careful that we can identify it without doubt as an adult male redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus Gmelin 1789 , a breeding and migratory bird species in Italy ( Salvadori, 1872; Frugis, 1972; cf. Cramp, 1988) ( Fig. 5 ). This is the first time this species has been identified among those depicted in the Baptism of Christ by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, having been this detail overlooked by other commentators. Aristotle (Historia animalium, IX: 632 B 28) had already described its similarity to the European robin Erithacus rubetula (L. 1758), though in somewhat mystical terms ( Pollard, 1977). It is possible that along with blue rock thrushes Monticola saxatilis L. 1766, redstarts were also kept as caged songbirds in Roman times (cf. Lamberton & Rotroff, 1985). In the past, its captivity was particularly valued because, according to Olina (1622), it was a species that “Canta la Primavera come il Rusignolo” (= “Sings in spring like the nightingale”).

The redstart is similar in length to the robin, but with a much more attenuated form, most obvious in the flat- ter crown, longer wings, and slim rump extending into a rather long tail. The latter is of a rufous-chestnut colour, always eye-catching whether flirted in flight or characte- ristically quivered when on the ground ( Cramp, 1988). In the adult male redstart, as shown in the image evoked in Verrocchio’s Baptism of Christ, the crown, back, and scapulars are blue-grey and the wings black-brown, but in the painting it is not possible to see the brilliant colour of the rump, because of the depiction of the bird in dorsal norm. However, the particularly striking red colouration of the tail could perhaps be assimilated to the peculiar plumage of other small songbirds, such as the already mentioned robin or the goldfinch Carduelis carduelis (L. 1758), whose image is traditionally adopted in contexts of Christological significance. Although neither of these birds is characterised by a red tail, other portions of their plumage are similarly coloured. According to Skinner (1925), the robin would fall into the latter category because, in the tradition, it pulled out a thorn from Christ’s crown on the climb to Calvary and thus stained its breast with blood. Moreover, since every thorn and thorny bush alludes to the “crown of thorns” (Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae in Migne, 1844 -1865, vol. 197 coll. 1117-1252), the goldfinch − carduelis in Latin, because it feeds on thistles (cardus) (see Masseti, 1980) − has also become a symbol of Christ’s passion ( Levi D’Ancona, 2000 and 2001). The bright red wing speculum can also be seen as a direct reference to the blood of Christ ( Impelluso, 2003), as perhaps is the red chest of the robin or the vermilion tail of the redstart. It is precisely for this reason that the last bird may have been portrayed in the evocative context of the Baptism of Christ. Here too, however, I do not feel like venturing into further speculations on the symbolic meaning of the depiction of P. phoenicurus , which would take me far away from the naturalistic contextualization. The redstart is also a hunter, although more oriented towards the predation upon insects and other invertebrates, which it finds preferably in woodland, rocky hills, parkland and river banks with scattered old trees, orchards and gardens ( Heinzel et al., 1998).

Figures

Fig. 4 - Male redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus flying among the fronds of a palm tree, in another detail of Verrocchio’s Baptism of Christ. / Maschio di codirosso Phoenicurus phoenicurus in volo fra le fronde di una palma, in un altro particolare del Battesimo di Cristo. (Courtesy Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze).

Fig. 5 - Portrait of an adult male redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus. / Maschio adulto di codirosso Phoenicurus phoenicurus. (Drawing by: / Disegno di: Sandro Sacchetti).