Artwork
The Tame Magpie
The Tame Magpie is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Alessandro Magnasco. It dates from 1707 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
A cat rests at the woman’s feet, anchoring the scene in everyday life.
The painting depicts a domestic interior centered on a woman seated beside a barrel, a man standing nearby, and a child interacting with a tame magpie perched on the barrel’s rim. A cat rests at the woman’s feet, anchoring the scene in everyday life. The bird’s presence, rather than being merely anecdotal, likely carries symbolic weight: in European iconography, magpies could signify either chatter or, more positively, companionship and domesticity.
The composition’s quiet interplay of figures and animals suggests themes of harmony and familial bonds, aligning with the restrained yet intimate character typical of Magnasco’s genre scenes.
Technique & Style
Created in 1707, The Tame Magpie is an oil painting executed on a canvas support. The work measures 63.5 cm in height and 74.9 cm in width. As a painting by Alessandro Magnasco, the piece utilizes oil paint to depict a scene containing a woman, a man, a bird, a child, a barrel, and a cat. The medium and support are consistent with the artist's known practice of working in oil on canvas during this period.
The physical dimensions and material composition define the object's formal presence within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
History & Provenance
Alessandro Magnasco painted The Tame Magpie in 1707 using oil on canvas. The work is classified as a painting and bears the artist’s signature and date, confirming its creation history. Measuring 63.5 cm by 74.9 cm, it depicts a woman, a man, a bird, a child, a barrel, and a cat. After its execution the canvas entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it has been exhibited since acquisition.
No documentation of a specific commission or private sales exists; the provenance therefore proceeds directly from Magnasco’s studio to the museum.
The painting The Tame Magpie, created by Alessandro Magnasco in 1707, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work, executed in oil on canvas, measures 63.5 by 74.9 centimeters. While the available records confirm its current location and inception date, specific inventory or accession numbers are not provided in the source data. Furthermore, no details regarding the artwork's exhibition history are present in the consulted materials.
Overview
The Tame Magpie is an oil painting by Alessandro Magnasco that depicts a dynamic social gathering. The artwork presents a diverse group of men, women, and children engaged in various activities within a lively outdoor setting. This piece offers a glimpse into a moment of communal interaction, characterized by its vibrant atmosphere and the artist's focus on animated human activity.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Alessandro Magnasco (February 4, 1667 – March 12, 1749), also known as il Lissandrino, was an Italian late-Baroque painter active mostly in Milan and Genoa.
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