Artifact World Gallery
Get the iOS app

Poultry and ducks in a park by Melchior d' Hondecoeter

Melchior d' Hondecoeter · 1677-01-01

Melchior d'Hondecoeter painted birds, and almost nothing but birds, for his entire career. Poultry and Ducks in a Park (1677) hangs in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and looks, at first, like a simple gathering of farm fowl.

Look closer. Among the white duck, the rooster, and the turkeys, tucked into the upper right corner, is a hawk, a predator with a sharp gaze, sitting among animals it would hunt. It is easy to scroll past.

D'Hondecoeter was a Dutch Golden Age animalier, a painter who specialized in animals. He studied his subjects obsessively and built their feathers stroke by stroke, using deep shadow and bright light to give each bird weight and presence. This painting has been in the Rijksmuseum's collection for generations.

Next time you see a painting of animals, check the corners. You might find something watching you back.

Details

A white duck. A rooster. Turkeys. The ordinary barnyard.
A white duck. A rooster. Turkeys. The ordinary barnyard.
But find the upper right corner of the canvas.
But find the upper right corner of the canvas.
His elaborate comb and alert stance convey a sense of pride and vigilance.
His elaborate comb and alert stance convey a sense of pride and vigilance.
The dark, textured feathers and slightly hunched posture suggest a more grounded, perhaps wary, presence.
The dark, textured feathers and slightly hunched posture suggest a more grounded, perhaps wary, presence.
Its ruffled feathers and downward gaze create a sense of quiet contemplation.
Its ruffled feathers and downward gaze create a sense of quiet contemplation.
Transcript

Hondecoeter painted birds. Only birds. His entire career. A white duck. A rooster. Turkeys. The ordinary barnyard. But find the upper right corner of the canvas. A hawk. Hondecoeter built every feather with light and shadow. Sharp gaze. Predator. Right there among the farm birds.