Isaac Spackman Basso-Relievo Watercolors

Perky-looking Ouzel. Isaac Spackman (d. 1771). Basso-relievo watercolors. London c. 1764. Paper size: 10 1/2 x 7 3/4 inches.
During the mid-18th C., Irish artist Samuel Dixon invented and popularized a new painting technique known as basso-relievo, most notably used to embellish paintings of natural history subjects, especially birds and flowers. Artists employing the basso-relievo technique used a copper-plate mould embossed from the back of the paper to create a 3D composition. Each work was then painted with watercolor and highlighted with gouache. These works served a dual function; they were decorative paintings as well as models to be copied by amateur embroiderers and needleworkers. London-based artist Isaac Spackman imitated Dixon?s technique, and like his contemporary, he borrowed imagery from George Edwards? Natural History of Uncommon Birds. ?The West Indian Parrot? is the only composition Spackman did not copy from George Edwards, thus it is his alone.