Rijksmuseum

A Hunter’s Bag near a Tree Stump with a Magpie, Known as ‘The Contemplative Magpie’

Date

c. 1678

Medium

canvas, oil paint (paint)

Institution

Rijksmuseum

Commissioned by King William III of Orange, d’Hondecoeter painted these two hunting still lifes for Soestdijk Palace. They hung facing one another in a corridor whereby the magpie in this painting ‘speaks’ to the peacock in the other one. Together they depict a fable in which the birds must choose a king. The magpie objects to the peacock. With its splendid plumage how can it effectively defend its fellow birds in times of peril?

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