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A Cock, Hens and Chicks

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Melchior d‘Hondecoeter specialised in large decorative paintings of birds, often mixing domestic and ornamental fowl with wild ones, as he does in this picture. A wild pigeon perches on a wooden yoke that leans against an overturned wicker basket, while a finch wings its way towards it. The exotic chickens are probably Polish – in spite of their name, a breed first recorded in the Netherlands and established there by the seventeenth century. They were bred for their eggs but also for their colours and extravagant appearance. Such a picture would have been highly prized for its detailed representation of the fowl, and as an idealised view of life on a farm. Although d’Hondecoeter drew and sketched from life, he painted in the studio – common practice among seventeenth-century Dutch artists.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Cock, Hens and Chicks

Date

about 1668-70

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 85.5 x W 110 cm

Accession number

NG202

Acquisition method

Bequeathed by Richard Simmons, 1847

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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