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Aelbert Cuyp was a gifted animal painter, known particularly for his landscapes with cows and horses. He also treated subjects in which a wide diversity of creatures takes centre stage, such as Orpheus with Animals in a Landscape. The present depiction of a duck is a special case. It is a portrait of a particular duck which addresses the viewer in the lines of verse at the left. The verse informs us that her name is "Sijctghen", born and bred in Werkendam, and portrayed at the age of twenty, an exceptional age for a duck. The painting is unique not only as an animal portrait, it also presents a curiosity of nature, namely the duck's remarkable longevity.
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