Artwork
Girl with a Parrot
Girl with a Parrot is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt. It dates from 1673 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. Created in 1673, this oil on canvas presents a young woman positioned in a window, clutching a metal birdcage that holds a blue parrot.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a Dutch genre work, it belongs to a tradition of intimate domestic imagery in which everyday figures and household objects carry layered symbolic meaning.
The painting is a genre scene depicting a young woman accompanied by a parrot housed in a birdcage. As a Dutch genre work, it belongs to a tradition of intimate domestic imagery in which everyday figures and household objects carry layered symbolic meaning. The parrot, a frequent motif in seventeenth-century Dutch painting, was associated with exotic luxury, wealth, and the costs of overseas trade, while also functioning as a symbol of eloquence, learning, and fidelity due to the bird's perceived ability to mimic human speech.
The birdcage reinforces themes of containment and care, framing the parrot as a prized possession tended within the home. Together, the woman and her caged parrot evoke ideals of feminine refinement, domestic virtue, and the cultivated leisure of the Dutch household, while the exotic bird hints at the broader mercantile reach of the Dutch Republic.
History & Provenance
The painting Girl with a Parrot was created by Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt in 1673. Executed in oil on panel, the work depicts a woman alongside a birdcage and a parrot. It is currently held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. The artwork measures 355 cm in height and 300 cm in width.
Girl with a Parrot is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it is catalogued under inventory number KMS1846.
The painting entered the museum's collection in 1886 after being sold by a private dealer to the museum's founding benefactor, Carl Jacobsen.
It has been part of several exhibitions at the museum, including the 1900 retrospective of Dutch Golden Age masters and the 2018 Dutch Baroque exhibition.
Overview
Created in 1673, this oil on canvas presents a young woman positioned in a window, clutching a metal birdcage that holds a blue parrot. She is dressed in a brown garment trimmed in white, her hair neatly gathered, and looks directly at the viewer with a calm expression. Behind her, a dim interior is hinted at by a partially drawn red curtain.
Technique & Style
Employing a refined chiaroscuro, the artist renders the figure and cage in luminous detail against a shadowed backdrop, achieving a convincing sense of space. Meticulous brushwork captures the texture of the fabric, the sheen of metal, and the plumage of the parrot, reflecting the fijnschilder tradition’s emphasis on precision and surface realism.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt
Pieter Cornelisz van Slingelandt (20 October 1640 – 7 November 1691) was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter who had been a pupil of Gerard Dou and is known as one of Leiden's fijnschilders.
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