(Utrecht 1636–1695 Amsterdam)
A hoopoe, parakeet and swallow, together with a quiver, arrows, a crossbow and a net, all on a marble ledge,
oil on canvas, 116 x 124 cm, framed

We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer for confirming the attribution of the present painting.

Nicknamed the ‘Raphael of birds’, Melchior d’Hondecoeter is one of the best-known and revered animal painters of the seventeenth century. The artist came from a family of painters and began his training with his father, before apprenticing with his uncle, the painter Jan Baptist Weenix (1621–1659), with whom he developed his technique and his palette. Very early on, the depiction of birds became his preferred subject matter. His works often are underpinned by a moralising intent, using fables or praising fowl over wild birds because they were the first animals put to the service of humankind. This inclination was highly appreciated by his Dutch contemporaries, coinciding as it did with the extolling of work as a bedrock component of their religion.

The present painting clearly reflects the prestige of the hunt and its popularity among d’Hondecoeter’s aristocratic patrons, in this case the hunt with the arrow. Quiver, bow, arrow and net are beautifully rendered and appear to extend through the painted surface towards the viewer in a captivating ‘trompe-l’œil’ effect. Although d’Hondecoeter produced most of his still lifes of game fairly early in his career, the present painting seems more comparable to a pair of hunting still lifes dated to around 1678, now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. nos. SK-A-170 and SK-A-171), therefore a relatively late date and mature stage of creation, seems more likely.

Fred G. Meijer suggests that the present painting belongs to a group together with at least two other paintings, sold recently in Paris (see sale, Sotheby’s, Paris, 15 June 2021, lot 32, Still life with a heron and a blue curtain, 116.5 x 125.2 cm; and Still life with a deer and a red curtain, 116.8 x 125.3 cm). Another comparable painting featuring the same marble ledge, with the same width of the painted canvas, and a similar handling of the decorative placement of the birds in the sky, may too have been intended as part of the group. This work is signed and dated 1685 and was mentioned in 1958 in the collection of Lord Crawford. It is therefore plausible to date the present painting to around 1685 as well.

With this ambitious still life, the artist has deployed his talent for representing the animal kingdom with finesse. But it is above all in the originality of the composition that we see the artist’s ability to inject new life into the genre, allowing the painting to be dated to the peak of his career. As is the case with most major works by the artist, individual birds can be found in other compositions, as well. The hoopoe sitting on the basket in the present painting appears in a painting in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. no. SK-A-695,). Another comparable work, The Menagerie, was destined for Het Loo, the palace of William III. It hung above the door of the king’s private apartment and is today conserved in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. no. SK-A-173). Very evident in the present rediscovered painting is the carefully observed and staged interaction between the birds in the composition, who are not merely placed following a decorative scheme, but react with each other, or in this case, seem to react to the hunting gear in disapproval. This ability to observe and depict realistic behaviour of his favourite subjects was praised unanimously by contemporaries.