Poultry in a Landscape
Artist: Melchior d'Hondecoeter (Dutch, 1636-1695)
Date: mid-late 17th Century
Dimensions:
H: 36 3/4 in. (93.7 cm); W: 44 7/8 in. (113.3 cm)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1949.102
Label Text:Dutch artist Melchior d’Hondecoeter’s name became synonymous with his specialty of painting birds. He was the master in the 17th century at painting the soft, glossy, delicately colored plumage of all kinds of domestic poultry, game birds, and waterfowl—depicted as both living and dead.
In this image of poultry in a farmyard, a minor drama plays out in the encounter between a tom turkey and a family of chickens. Although widely bred in Europe by the 17th century, the turkey is native to North America, while the breed of crested chicken in this painting originally came from Asia. For a prosperous Dutch art lover who would probably have displayed such a painting in his country house, the exotic breeds may have evoked the widespread trade and colonies of the Dutch Republic in the 1600s.
In this image of poultry in a farmyard, a minor drama plays out in the encounter between a tom turkey and a family of chickens. Although widely bred in Europe by the 17th century, the turkey is native to North America, while the breed of crested chicken in this painting originally came from Asia. For a prosperous Dutch art lover who would probably have displayed such a painting in his country house, the exotic breeds may have evoked the widespread trade and colonies of the Dutch Republic in the 1600s.
On view
In Collection(s)