Melchior d'Hondecoeter (Utrecht 1636-1695 Amsterdam)

A peacock and poultry

Details

Melchior d'Hondecoeter (Utrecht 1636-1695 Amsterdam)
A peacock and poultry
with inscription 'M. Hondekoeter' (verso)
traces of black chalk, brush and black ink and watercolour, watermark Pro Patria
7 7/8 x 12 1/8 in. (19.9 x 30.9 cm.)

Provenance

Jhr. J. Goll van Franckenstein (L. 2987), with his inscription 'No 2172.'.
Sir Charles Greville (L. 549).
Earl of Warwick (L. 2600); Christie’s, London, 20-21 May 1896, lot 184 (part of lot).

Sale room notice

Please note that Joy Kearney, who is preparing a catalogue raisonné of d'Hondecoeter’s paintings, rejects the attribution to the artist of both this drawing and the one at the British Museum.

Lot Essay

A drawing of the same composition, which includes more chicks and birds in the background, is in the British Museum (Inv. 1861,0810.23). Another drawing with the same peacock and poultry, but set in a landscape with architectural elements and other birds, is in the Stiftung Weimarer Klassik und Kunstsammlungen, Weimar (Inv. 5104). Peter Schatborn has suggested that the present drawing is the first version, followed by the British Museum sheet and finally the Weimar drawing.

We are grateful to Peter Schatborn for his assistance in cataloguing this drawing and for confirming the attribution to d'Hondecoeter on the basis of a digital photograph.

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