Marmaduke Cradock (1660-1716)
Pair of 17th century oil paintings of peacocks and other birds in a landscape, c.1690
Oil on canvas
53 x 63cm each
Sold
Gijsbert Gillisz. de Hondecoeter (1604-1653)
A cockerel, hen, mallard drake and duck with their ducklings, c.1640
Oil on canvas
101 x 88cm
Sold
A cockerel, hen, mallard drake and duck with their ducklings in a barnyard landscape
Provenance
Private collection, Somerset for the last 40 years.
With Paul Harding, dealer in 16th and 17th century paintings, Chobham, Surrey
A cockerel, hen, mallard drake and duck with their ducklings in a barnyard landscape by Gijsbert Gillisz. de Hondecoeter.
c.1640, oil on canvas in a period giltwood frame.
Gijsbert Gillisz. de Hondecoeter (1604-1653) came from a family of painters of Flemish origin. His grandfather Nicolaes (Jansz.) de Hondecoutre I (d 1609) from Mechelen is cited in 1585-6 as a painter in Antwerp, but his work is unknown. He moved his family to Delft before 1601. Two of his sons became painters, Hans de Hondecoutre, and Gillis Claesz de Hondecoutre (1575-1638), a landscape and animal painter in Utrecht and Amsterdam. Gillis Claesz. had two sons Nicholas and Gijsbert and Gijsbert trained under his father in Amsterdam before returning to his native Utrecht in 1629.
He began by painting birds, particulary water fowl and nesting hens, in a somewhat mannered style similar to Roelandt de Savery, and was a member of the Utrecht Guild of St Luke (1626-32), He was the father and first teacher of Melchior de Hondecoeter who gained prominence from painting elegant avian scenes.
After his death in 1653, the artist Jan Baptist Weenix who had married his daughter Josina, continued the training of his son Melchior.
