Author Description

Sypesteyn Castle Museum will show works by Melchior de Hondecoeter, painter to William III, in the first ever exhibition of the work of the entire de Hondecoeter family. De Hondecoeter, who is primarily known for his paintings of all kinds of poultry and exotic birds as well as hunting still lifes, will be shown in the context of the development of the genre of decorative natural history paintings of birds. This subject matter was particularly suitable for country houses. Sypesteyn, being a historical country house itself, is therefore ideally suited to host an exhibition on the painter. It will show a selection of 22 paintings by the artist and his family, mostly from private collections, supplemented with some loans from museum collections.