Birds in a Lakeside Landscape. Jakab Bogdány (1660–1724) & Studio

Oil on panel
Presented in a superb early 17th century Italian cassetta frame with its original hanging hook — a rare model.
Framed dimensions: 68 × 51 cm. Panel: 50 × 32 cm.

This painting depicts, with uncommon grace, an ornithological scene where barnyard birds mingle with ornamental species in a lakeside landscape bathed in light. At the centre, a male peacock unfurls its green and blue iridescent tail, perched on a carved architectural fragment; around it move a red hen bending toward the ground, a resting mallard, two domestic geese — one white, the other mottled brown and white — a northern shoveler flying across the sky, two pigeons perched at the entrance of the dovecote, and on the right a duck (possibly a shelduck) standing on a rock before the reeds. The whole composition is suffused with a peaceful atmosphere where water and sky blend into golden and blue tones, typical of Bogdány’s clear, satin?like palette. A Hungarian painter active in London at the end of the 17th century, he was one of the masters of exotic and domestic bird portraiture, combining naturalistic precision with decorative sensibility. The balanced, luminous composition reflects his taste for refined harmonies and the delicate textures of plumage.

This work embodies the 18th century fascination with rare birds and ornamental gardens, where scientific rigour meets the poetry of observation.

Biography
Jakab Bogdány (1660–1724) was a Hungarian painter specialising in still life and animal painting. His pupil — and later son in law — was the painter Tóbiás Stranover, originally from Sibiu.

Career
He studied fine arts in Vienna, settled in Amsterdam in 1684, then moved to London. In the Netherlands, he was influenced by the work of Willem van Aelst, Abraham van Beijeren, Melchior d’Hondecoeter, and others. In England, he studied the floral style of Jean?Baptiste Monnoyer as well as the animal paintings of Francis Barlow and Marmaduke Cradock, while developing a personal style characterised by vivid colours and static perspective. He achieved great success with his colourful still lifes depicting flowers and birds.

The Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest preserves in its collections a nearly identical composition by the same painter (oil on canvas), featuring the same species arranged in a very similar layout, though in a larger format. This museum version, while valuable for understanding Bogdány’s work, is less accomplished: the rendering of plumage is more summary, the light less subtle, and some birds show a quicker, less precise drawing. Does the much smaller format of our painting allow for greater refinement in the details?

Provenance: European private collection
Condition: Excellent condition; stable paint layer, even varnish, panel without cracks.
Sold with a certificate of authenticity.