The Menagerie 1690

painted

possibly oil pastel

oil painting

derelict

underpainting

mythology

painting painterly

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

mixed media

watercolor

Melchior d'Hondecoeter's "The Menagerie" (1690) is a masterpiece of Dutch Golden Age animal painting. The work is a complex composition depicting a variety of exotic birds, including parrots, cockatoos, and a cardinal, along with two monkeys, set against a backdrop of a leafy tree and an ornate classical urn. D'Hondecoeter's meticulous attention to detail and vibrant colors bring the animals to life, emphasizing the beauty and exoticism of the natural world. The painting, currently housed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, is a testament to the artist's skill and the enduring popularity of animal subjects in 17th-century Dutch art.

Comments

rijksmuseum over 1 year ago

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Presented here are two squirrel monkeys from Central America, two white sulphur-crested cockatoos from Australia, a grey parrot from Africa and a purple-naped lory – on a chain at the lower left – from Indonesia. Hondecoeter combined these creatures and several other splendid birds in this painting, which was destined for Het Loo, the palace of William III. It hung above the door of the king’s private apartment.