Lot 40: JAKOB BOGDÁNY

JAKOB BOGDÁNY EPERJES CIRCA 1660 - 1724 LONDON AN EXTENSIVE LANDSCAPE WITH A CAPUCHIN SQUIRREL MONKEY, TWO GUINEA PIGS, A BLUE TIT AND AN AMAZON ST. VINCENT PARROT WITH PEACHES, FIGS, AND PEARS, ALL SET IN AN ELEGANT PARK WITH CLASSICAL BUILDINGS BEYOND Signed centre left: J. Bogdani Oil on canvas oil on canvas 54.7 by 107 cm.; 21 1/2 by 42 1/8 in.

London, Richard Green Galleries, 13th September - 7th October 1989, cat. no. 15.

Anononymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 20 April 1988, lot 83, when sold as one of a set of four;
With Richard Green, London, 1989;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 15 April 1992, lot 30, where acquired by the present owners.

The painting must be dated to the artist's full maturity, circa 1710-20, when he was firmly established as the leading bird painter in England. Bogdany had arrived in England in 1688, having spent about five years as a still-life painter in Amsterdam after leaving his native Hungary. Bogdany spent the rest of his life in England, marrying Elizabeth Hemmings in 1693. He was patronised by the court and gained a reputation among the leading artistocratic patrons of the day as a fine painter of still-lifes and birds. One of his earliest commissions in 1694 was for a set of flower decorations for Queen Mary's looking-glass closet in the Water Gallery at Hampton Court and later painting pictures for Queen Anne who was 'pleas'd with his performances and encourag'd him much'. Of particular significance in his career development was his meeting with Admiral George Churchill, younger brother of John, Duke of Marlborough, who had created an aviary in his house, Ranger's Lodge, near Frogmore, Windsor. It was here that Bogdany studied the exotic birds that appear in so many of his paintings. This fine picture is unusual in that a squirrel monkey (Saimiri scireus) features prominently. Whereas most of the birds and animals appear in other paintings by Bogdany, the monkey does not appear to feature in any other of his compositions.