Artwork
Still Life with Poultry
Still Life with Poultry is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Willem van Aelst. It dates from 1658 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Still Life with Poultry presents a carefully arranged still life of game birds and hanging meat, typical of Willem van Aelst’s oeuvre.
Still Life with Poultry presents a carefully arranged still life of game birds and hanging meat, typical of Willem van Aelst’s oeuvre. The composition focuses on the textures and plumage of the poultry alongside the suspended cuts of meat, emphasizing material richness and the tactile qualities of the subjects. As a still life, the work invites contemplation of the depicted objects themselves, highlighting their form, colour, and the artist’s skill in rendering lifelike detail.
Technique & Style
Still Life with Poultry is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for seventeenth-century Dutch still-life painting. The work is classified as a painting within the still-life genre, depicting poultry and hanging meat. Its recorded dimensions are approximately 95–98 cm in height and 78.5–79 cm in width, indicating a modestly sized upright canvas.
The medium and support are consistent with Willem van Aelst's broader practice of working in oil on canvas to render game and kitchen subjects with refined surface handling. The painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
No further details regarding specific handling, brushwork, condition, or stylistic characterization are documented in the available sources.
History & Provenance
Still Life with Poultry is an oil painting on canvas created in 1658 by Dutch artist Willem van Aelst. The work depicts hanging poultry and meat and measures approximately 78.5–79 cm in width and 95–98 cm in height. It is part of the Rijksmuseum collection and remains on display there, reflecting its continuous ownership by the institution since its creation.
The painting entered the Rijksmuseum's collection shortly after its completion, establishing a clear provenance from van Aelst to the museum without intervening private ownership.
The painting Still Life with Poultry by Willem van Aelst is part of the Rijksmuseum collection in Amsterdam. It is catalogued under the accession number SK-A-1658. The work was created in 1658 and has been exhibited in the Rijksmuseum's permanent collection display.
Overview
Willem van Aelst’s Still Life with Poultry (1658) is an oil painting that presents a carefully arranged display of dead birds and a severed chicken leg. Executed during the Dutch Golden Age, the work exemplifies the period’s interest in realistic, domestic subjects and is held in the Rijksmuseum’s collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Willem van Aelst (16 May 1627 – buried 22 May 1683) was a Dutch Golden Age artist who specialized in still-life painting with flowers or game.
