Lot 327: Studio of Melchior d'Hondecoeter (Utrecht 1636-1695 Amsterdam)

Studio of Melchior d'Hondecoeter (Utrecht 1636-1695 Amsterdam)
'Soo gebeck Soo gesongen': A peacock, lark, crow, stilt, peahen, heron, owl, parakeet, cardinal, woodpecker, swallow, stint and other birds on a garden wall
with inscription 'Soo gebeck Soo gesongen' (lower center)
oil on canvas
61 x 52½ in. (154.9 x 133.5 cm.)

Denver Art Museum Major Works in the Collection, Denver, 1981, pp. 178-179, as 'Hondecoeter'.

Arthur S. Vernay, by 1917, from whom purchased by
Senator and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim, New York, by whom gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 1962.

Items Sold to Benefit the Denver Art Museum Acquisitions Fund

Illustrating the Dutch proverb: 'Ieder vogeltje zingt zoals hij gebekt is' meaning 'Every Bird sings his own Song', the present painting relates to a composition by Hondecoeter, dated 1682 (sold, Sotheby's, London, 4 July 1990, lot 26).

We are grateful to Fred G. Meijer at the RKD for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.