Forest Floor Still Life with Birds, Butterflies and a Lizard

• Forest Floor Still Life with Birds, Butterflies and a Lizard
• Animals and Plants

SK-A-169

signature: ‘M d hondec’

D’Hondecoeter specialized in painting birds, which he portrayed as lifelike as possible, such as the chaffinch at the upper right in this still life. On this forest floor, in addition to birds, he painted butterflies and a common wall lizard. However, there is more to it than that. He used real butterfly wings for the butterflies and worked the wet paint with a sponge or cloth to suggest the moss, thereby creating an optimally realistic effect.

painter: Melchior d' Hondecoeter

c. 1668

olieverf op doek

• depth 7.3 cm
• height 66 cm x width 52.5 cm

purchase 1809

Public domain

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:

https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20028083