Still Life with Birds 1662

William Gowe Ferguson, a Scottish painter working in the 17th century, created this still life using oil on canvas. The image of dead birds may strike us as brutal today, but hunting was central to displays of wealth and power in 17th-century Europe. Images of fowl became associated with aristocratic culture in England, France, and the Netherlands. The still life was also emerging as a distinct genre, prized for its realism and artistry. Ferguson’s inclusion of his signature and the date of the painting is a declaration of its status as an art object. We might ask: Who was the painting for? How did it function in its original setting? By researching period inventories and social histories, we can better understand how images of dead birds were part of a visual language of social class and cultural identity.