The Menagerie

Artist
Melchior d’Hondecoeter
Year
c. 1690
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
135 × 116.5 cm

Exotic birds — macaws, parrots, a cassowary and a peacock — gather in a garden before a dark architectural backdrop in this grand animal piece. Hondecoeter, the Netherlands’ foremost bird painter, merged close ornithological observation with theatrical display, a style that made his menageries prized fixtures of wealthy homes.