Birds in a Park 1686

Melchior d'Hondecoeter painted "Birds in a Park" using oil on canvas sometime in the second half of the 17th century. Looking at the variety of fowl, one wonders if this isn't some wealthy Dutch patron's collection, proudly put on display. But what does it mean to take these birds, native to all corners of the earth, and place them in a Dutch garden? It speaks to the Netherlands as a hub of global trade at this time. The Dutch East India Company imported spices, textiles, and other luxury goods, and paintings like this served to celebrate Dutch power. Through estate inventories and shipping records, we can learn more about the people who commissioned such paintings, and how they understood their place in the world. Art history is about understanding these social contexts of art, and how artists negotiate the world around them.