Jan Fyt, 'Dead Birds in a Landscape', probably 1640s
About the work
Overview
Jan Fyt was an extremely successful painter of bird and animal still-life pictures, using a light, frothy style of brushwork peculiar to him. Here, he has piled up the birds' bodies – a brace of partridges alongside a greenfinch, chaffinch, brambling, robin and quail – in a pyramid. The evening sky casts a mellow glow on the gate behind them, but is grey and threatening overhead. It has been suggested that the object behind the tree trunk is a bird trap, but it is more likely to be a birdcage used to carry a decoy bird or a bird of prey.
At this time in the Southern Netherlands, hunting was still a pastime reserved for the aristocracy. But members of the well-off urban elite were eager to acquire Fyt’s game pieces, and to decorate their houses with these tokens of a lifestyle only open to aristocrats.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Dead Birds in a Landscape
- Artist
- Jan Fyt
- Artist dates
- 1611 - 1661
- Date made
- probably 1640s
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 41.6 × 56.8 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed
- Acquisition credit
- Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876
- Inventory number
- NG1003
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Gregory Martin, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School: circa 1600–circa 1900’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1956E. Greindl, Les peinture flamands de natures mortes au XVIIe siècle, Bruxelles 1956
-
1970G. Martin, The Flemish School, circa 1600-circa 1900, London 1970
-
1986Martin, Gregory, National Gallery Catalogues: The Flemish School, circa 1600 - circa 1900, London 1986
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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