The Poultry Seller 1620 - 1643

Cornelis Jacobsz. Delff painted this oil on panel titled, The Poultry Seller, sometime before 1643. It depicts an old man holding a rooster, alongside a woman, a dog and various goods for sale. Paintings like this were part of a broader shift in 17th-century Dutch art towards genre scenes depicting everyday life. Delff's painting invites us to consider the lived experiences and social roles of working-class individuals. The weathered face of the poultry seller speaks to a life of hard labor, while the presence of the woman suggests the important role women held in family economies. The exchange of goods, represented by the woman counting money and the man holding the rooster, underscores economic activities shaping the society in the Dutch Golden Age. What does it mean to exchange something that lives? What is it like for the seller? For the buyer? Ultimately, Delff’s painting captures a moment in time, reflecting societal values of commerce and labor but also the intimate, personal dimensions of human interaction with animals.