HONDECOETER, Melchior d'
(b. 1636, Utrecht, d. 1695, Amsterdam)

The Pair of Peacocks

1670s
Oil on canvas, 156 x 188 cm
Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna

Melchior d'Hondecoeter tried to characterize the typical behaviour of the diverse birds depicted in his paintings. He even went as far as to create animal stories with his cockfights, squabbles over food and threatening birds of prey.