A colourful group of birds is assembled at the edge of a pool. The focus of the painting is the pink pelican on the left. The ground is covered in dirt, droppings, stones and twigs. Melchior d’Hondecoeter studied living birds in the aviaries and menageries in and around Amsterdam. He worked for wealthy citizens who lived in large buildings where ‘salets’ (the forerunner of the salon) were decorated with wall and ceiling paintings. This picture once formed part of a much larger wall painting, as indicated by the crane on the left and the black bird to the right, which have both been severed. The canvas was apparently cut into smaller sections, which would have been easier to sell. Most of D’Hondecoeter’s wall paintings met with the same fate.
| Artist |
Melchior d'Hondecoeter
RKD
|
|---|---|
| Title | Water Birds |
| Date | ca. 1685 |
| Period | 17th century |
| Collection | paintings AAT |
| Object type | oil paintings (visual works) AAT |
| Inventory number | 1882-F |
| Acquisition credit |
purchase
Van Assche (coll.) Ghent 1882 |
| Current whereabouts | Work on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1882-F |
| IIIF Manifest | https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/231/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus |
300263554
animal paintings
AAT
300015636 landscapes AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
25F
animals
Iconclass
25F3 birds Iconclass 25F36 water-birds Iconclass 25F36(DUCK) water-birds: duck Iconclass 25F36(GOOSE) water-birds: goose Iconclass 25F36(PELICAN) water-birds: pelican Iconclass 25F37 shore-birds and wading-birds Iconclass 25F37(CRANE) shore-birds and wading-birds: crane Iconclass 25G11 groups of trees Iconclass 25G3 trees Iconclass 25H1 landscapes in the temperate zone Iconclass 25H21431 pool, puddle Iconclass 26A clouds Iconclass 41A16 rural housing, e.g. country-house, villa, cottage Iconclass 41A54 fence, wall, paling Iconclass 41A6 garden Iconclass 41A651 garden fountain Iconclass |
| School / Style | Baroque AAT |
| Catalogue du musée de peinture de la ville de Gand, 1900 / Louis Maeterlinck. - Gand : Imprimerie Victor Van Doosselaere, 1900 (nr. 85) |
| Het Museum voor Schoone Kunsten der stad Gent / Alfons Van Werveke. - [s.l.] : [s.n.], [s.a.] (p. 72) |
| Museum van Schoone Kunsten : Catalogus ; Oude Meesters, Schilderstukken, teekeningen, plaatsneden (met geschiedkundig overzicht) / Maurice Dupuis, Georges Charles Nicolas Marie Hulin de Loo, Fritz Van Loo. - Gent : Drukkerij F. De Vos, 1938 ; Gent : Stad Gent, 1938 (p. 73) |
| Guide du Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand, Orné de 52 reproductions de tableaux : Extrait du guide illustré de Gand / Jos. Casier. - Gand : Anc. Maison d'édition Vanderpoorten, 1949 (p. 23) |
| Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : Catalogus schilderkunst ; Deel I: 14de - 18de eeuw ; Deel II: 19de - 20ste eeuw / Robert Hoozee, Johan De Smet, Bruno Fornari, Ruth Monteyne. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2007 (dl. I, p. 109 (ill.)) |
| Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent : De collectie (tentoonstelling vanaf 21 maart 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gent : Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, 2021 |
| Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand : La Collection (exposition dès le 21 mars 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Gand : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Gand, 2021 |
| Museum of Fine Arts Ghent : The Collection (exhibition opened on March 21th 2021) / Johan De Smet, Bart Ooghe, Frederica Van Dam, Lieven Van Den Abeele, Cathérine Verleysen. - Ghent : Museum of Fine Arts Ghent, 2021 |
|
Do you have any suggestions, questions or information about this work? Write us, collectie.msk@stad.gent |