Melchior d'Hondecoeter Utrecht 1636 - 1695 Amsterdam

Mr. J.H. Hehewerth, a Delft lawyer, in 1943.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The original canvas is heavily lined and there is a slight rigid deformation to the picture plane. The surface is stable but raised in some areas. There is some very minor previous paint loss which has been retouched out. The removal of the discoloured varnish would enhance the tonality. Overall, the painting is in a good condition"
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This still life, depicting various dead game and hunting equipment, can be dated to the first half of the 1660s, soon after his arrival in Amsterdam in 1663.  It bears similarities of style and subject matter with other works of the 1660s; compare, for example, the Still life offered in these Rooms, 3 December 1997, lot 195, or another dated 1668 sold in these Rooms, 17 December 1998, lot 41. During the 1660s Hondecoeter's work still manifests the influence and teachings of both his uncle, Jan Baptist Weenix, in whose studio he became an assistant, and his cousin Jan Weenix. Also at this time Hondecoeter experimented with forest floor still lifes in the manner of Otto Marsius van Schrieck and Abraham Jansz. Begeyn.¹

From the late 1660s onwards Hondecoeter concentrated almost exclusively on large paintings of live birds and poultry, either somewhat forcefully placed in the centre of a composition backed by an italianate mansion or the grounds of an estate, or being startled by various predators. His game pieces and still lifes were regarded as extravagant wall decorations and were keenly sought after for the country mansions of rich Amsterdam burghers. Often they were painted on an enornous scale; see, for example, the Park with Birds in Munich, Alte Pinakothek, which measures 3.38 by 5.24 m., which was originally painted for a house in Driemond, near Weesp.²

1. For an example of which see the picture sold London, Christie's, 11 December 2002, lot 63.
2. Inv. no. 1715; see R. an der Heiden, Die Alte Pinakothek, Munich 1998, p. 517, reproduced.