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TattooLog

References, processes and ideas that guide my tattoo work. It’s a space to give context and clarity to the style and the thinking behind the designs.

 

bat in The Art of Falconry

Not a modern bat. Not even a believable one. Its body is off. The limbs stretch like hands. It looks less like something alive and more like something imagined—like it slipped out of a dream and landed on the page.

The drawing comes from a 13th-century manuscript called De Arte Venandi cum Avibus—a detailed Latin treatise on falconry, commissioned by Manfred of Sicily around 1260. Most of the book is filled with incredibly precise bird studies—over 900 of them. Each one rendered with care, in motion, in flight, mid-hunt. The kind of focus that feels almost scientific. And then, there’s this bat. It doesn’t match the others. It’s out of place. Maybe the artist had never seen a bat up close. Maybe it came from folklore, or a rumor, or just the need to fill a blank space. Whatever the reason, it feels like a moment where imagination took over. A break from observation—a leap into myth. That’s what stayed with me. The mismatch. The strangeness. The way something can be “wrong” and still feel more honest than accuracy.

This tattoo was based on that bat. It’s not rare—I’ve seen it tattoed before—but it still feels special every time. There’s a tension in it that doesn’t go away. It’s not correct. But it’s unforgettable.
Tattoo for @darkage.online • chest piece
Explore the original bat illustration here: https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/bnf/lat7656/283/0/Sequence-1


Jorge

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