Lot 126: A heron, a quail, a tit, a robin, a goldfinch, a woodpecker, a kingfisher, a sparrow and another bird in a forest landscape, a castle beyond

Pieter Snyers (Antwerp 1681-1752)
A heron, a quail, a tit, a robin, a goldfinch, a woodpecker, a kingfisher, a sparrow and another bird in a forest landscape, a castle beyond
signed, inscribed and dated 'Peeter.Snÿers. fecit Anvers 1747' (lower right)
oil on copper
14½ x 17 7/8 in. (36.8 x 45.4 cm.)

Van Berg, New York.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 19 May 1967, lot 26.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 25 June 1969, lot 43 (to Truman).
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 8 March 1972, lot 151a (to Jantor).
Karl Herweg, by whom acquired following the above sale.
Private collection, Germany.

Pieter Snyers, called le Saint, began his training under Alexander van Braedel in 1694. By 1705 he was recognised as a master in Brussels, and subsequently in Antwerp in 1707. Snyers is believed to have travelled to England at some point in his career where he abandoned the still lifes and nature scenes he was known for in the Netherlands (such as the present picture) in favour of the more profitable genre of portraiture. Snyers eventually returned to Antwerp where he died on 4 May 1752. The present work, dated 1747, was painted late in the artist's career after his English sojourn.