Circle of Jakob Bogdani
(Hungarian, 1660-1724)

"Still Life with Cockatoo, Bird and Spaniel"

oil on canvas
unsigned. Framed.
29-5/8" x 52-1/2"
Notes: Jakob Bogdani, a native of Presov, Hungary, moved to Amsterdam in 1684 where he was trained in the Dutch Golden Age tradition of the masters Melchoir de Hondeceoter (1636-1695) and Willem van Aelst ((1627-1683)- who specialized in still lifes with wild game and flowers. In 1688 Bogdani traveled to London, where he would remain for the rest of his life, seeking employment first with William III, Prince of Orange before being appointed court painter to Queen Anne. Under the tutelage of the court, Bogdani achieved great success, earning commissions from some of the most esteemed aristocrats, such as Queen Mary II and Admiral George Churchill, brother of the Duke of Marlborough. Churchill, one of his chief patrons, owned the famous aviary at Windsor Park, affording Bogdani ample access to the many exotic birds he depicted like the cockatoo in the painting offered here. Bogdani's superb still lifes typically featured the imported goods of London's rich maritime trade; foreign species of birds and flowers crowded his paintings with white and scarlet highlights in the plume and foliage accentuated by dark backgrounds. Examples of his work are conserved in the Royal Collection and Fitzwilliam Museum in London and in Magyar Nemzeti Galeria in Budapest.