3-035-844 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Still Life with Dead Birds and Game Bag, 1674. Additional Info: Willem van Aelst's sensual and sumptuous treatment of the dead birds, leather case, and satin drapery in this picture forms an obvious link with his other still-life specialty, collections of luxurious objects. In this hunting trophy picture, van Aelst rendered the brightly coloured birds and wide range of surfaces and textures with the same lushness he devoted elsewhere to crystal goblets and silver platters. He painted the birds so carefully that they can be accurately identified: the blue-green one is a kingfisher, the small red one is a Eurasian bullfinch, and the yellow-brown bird is a male bearded tit.