Domestic Fowls and a Man

Hondecoeter, Melchior de, manner of 1636 - 1695

Summary

In this highly stylised game piece faithfully painted in the manner of the Dutch still life painter Melchior de Hondecoeter, an assortment of domestic fowl is arranged in front of a large coop. A splendid turkey occupies the centre of the painting, his tail feathers fanned out in an arc. The fowl include two pairs of fancy pigeons, a hen pheasant, a pair of ducks, a rooster and hen, and another small game bird. A small brown dog pokes his head into the picture on the lower left and a black and white rabbit crouches in the foreground. A man is emerging from the coop with a basket over his arm. Stylistically, Hondecoeter was greatly influenced by Frans Snyders (1579-1657), a Flemish still life and animal painter of the previous generation, whose work he admired and collected. Here, the artist has been at pains to represent the different species with great accuracy and the human figure's role is merely accessory.