Geese, ducks and ducklings in a landscape with a pond, with two hens nearby on a wall

Victor is thought to have trained alongside Melchior d'Hondecoeter in the workshop of Jan Baptist Weenix in Amsterdam. He left for the Veneto in circa 1660 and was to remain there for most of the next decade, returning to Holland by 1670. He enjoyed considerable success in Venice and his work was to have a profound influence on the younger Italian painter of birds and animals, Giovanni Agostino Cassana.

This is one of only a few dated works by Victor, painted just a few years after his return from Italy. No doubt keen to impress his clientele with his Italian experience, the artist has chosen to retain the Italianised form of his Christian name in his signature.