Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Melchior d'Hondecoeter art

A poster of this beautiful painting, Barnyard with Chickens by Melchior d'Hondecoeter, is available from AllPosters.com for $27.99, with a 20 percent off sale today http://tinyurl.com/4ceg9d. D'Hondecoeter was a Dutch Baroque Era painter who lived from 1636-1695. He focused his work on living birds, in contrast to other painters of the time, who painted dead birds in poulterers' shops and the game killed by hunters. Historically, his work gives us documentation of what kinds of birds were being raised at that time. Peafowl were popular birds, as were doves, along with ducks and chickens.

Hookbill Ducks are among the breeds that Hondecoeter painted, so we know the breed was part of the livestock then, although they do not appear in this poster. Hookbill Ducks are now rare but breeders are nurturing the breed back to vitality.

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