A spaniel attacking a pheasant

Active as a painter as well as an engraver and draftsman, Abraham Hondius appears to have trained with the Dutch painters Pieter de Bloot and Cornelis Saftleven. Although he painted some landscapes, religious and mythological scenes, the majority of his surviving works are hunting scenes or animal studies. Such is the case with the present painting, which also reflects the influence of Flemish painters, particularly Frans Snyders, an artist with whose work Hondius may have become familiar through the circulation of prints.

We are grateful to Fred Meijer, of the RKD in The Hague, for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs (private communication, 12 October 2011).