Who painted The Phoenix?

The Phoenix was painted by Cornelis Troost in 1750-01-01.

Where can I see The Phoenix?

The Phoenix is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is The Phoenix?

The Phoenix is associated with Rococo painting.

Can I buy a print of The Phoenix?

Museum-quality prints of The Phoenix are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

The Phoenix

Cornelis Troost , 1750

The Phoenix is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Cornelis Troost. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting depicts a phoenix, the mythological bird traditionally associated with renewal, resurrection, and immortality through its cycle of self-consumption and rebirth from ashes. Rendered in oil on canvas, the work isolates the creature as its sole subject, allowing the symbolic resonance of the phoenix, endurance and transformation, to carry the meaning of the composition.

Produced in 1750 during the Rococo movement, the painting belongs to a period when classical and emblematic motifs were popular subjects for refined cabinet pictures, lending allegorical weight to otherwise decorative imagery.

Technique & Style

The Phoenix is painted in oil on canvas using a fluid, layered handling characteristic of mid-eighteenth-century European techniques, with glazes that model the bird’s plumage and a warm ground visible in areas of thin paint. The Rococo palette favors pastel pinks, creams, and soft golds, heightened with delicate highlights that accentuate the mythical creature’s contours and flame-like feathers. The composition is centered on the phoenix, rendered in profile with outstretched wings, its body articulated through carefully blended transitions rather than sharp contours, aligning with the period’s emphasis on grace and movement.

The work’s relatively small dimensions (112 × 114 cm) and refined finish suggest it was intended for intimate display, likely within a domestic or courtly context aligned with Rococo taste.

History & Provenance

The Phoenix, an oil painting on canvas created by Cornelis Troost in 1750, is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

The Phoenix by Cornelis Troost is dated to 1750 based on the work’s internal record.

The painting entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains held. Its dimensions are recorded as 112 cm in height and 114 cm in width, with oil paint on canvas as the medium.

The Phoenix, an oil painting on canvas created by Cornelis Troost in 1750, is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The work measures 112 cm in height and 114 cm in width. While the painting is confirmed to be part of the museum's holdings, the provided sources do not specify a unique inventory or accession number, nor do they list any specific exhibition history for the piece.

Overview

Cornelis Troost’s oil work dated around 1750, titled The Phoenix, belongs to the Rococo period and is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection. The composition centers on a vivid red bird with outstretched wings hovering against a softly clouded sky, framed by a gilded ornamental border that contains a small painted visage within a wreath.