Painter unspecified, 18th century, according to: Melchior de HONDECOETER (1636-1695), Court yard with fowls

oil, duplicated canvas; 91 x 123 cm;
painting after conservation.
From the collector's documentation: It used to be believed that contemporary viewers of Melchior de Hondecoeter's art were attracted - in addition to decorative qualities (...) also associations with hidden meanings from the so
fashionable emblematics of the time. The feathered world offered many analogies with human behavior, and these parallels provoked such expressions as proud as a peacock, offensive as a rooster, quarrelsome as a magpie, etc. Thus
the avian courtyards of Hondecoeter and his imitators could also provide a basis for reflecting on comical and repulsive human qualities. Hondecoeter's works were particularly popular at the
princely courts of Austria and Germany, hence many paintings by this master are found in Central European collections, and imitations of this artist proliferated especially in Vienna in the 18th century. The painting in question
was most likely created in this environment and time.