Still Life with Dead Birds, Johann Heinrich Roos
Johann Heinrich Roos
Still Life with Dead Birds
DE
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Johann Heinrich Roos

Still Life with Dead Birds, 1676


Dimensions
72.5 x 58.4 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
1465
Acquisition
Acquired in 1910
Status
On display, 2nd upper level, Old Masters, room 8

Texts

About the Work

Dutch and Flemish hunting still lifes also set an example for German painters of the Baroque. Here, Johann Heinrich Roos has staged the dead poultry as overwhelmingly lifelike hunting trophies. As in the case of Jan Weenix’s still life with a dead rabbit and birds, this painting would have reminded contemporary viewers of the aristocratic privilege of the hunt. At the same time, with its meticulous rendering of the lifeless bodies, it also illustrates a fundamental principle of the Baroque outlook on the world – the transience of earthly life.

Audio

  • Basic information
    01:32
  • Focus on art history
    01:59

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Still Life with Dead Birds
Painter
Production Place
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Signiert und datiert unten rechts „JHRoos . fe: / 1676“ [JHR ligiert]

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1910

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Main Motif
Associated Persons and Institutions

Iconclass

Primary
  • 43C113 spoils of the hunt, game, venison
  • 34B232(+963) fowl (cock, hen, chicken, etc.) (+ dying animal; death of animal; dead animal)
Secondary
  • 25F3(+63) birds (+ dying animal; death of animal; dead animal)
  • 25F32(BULLFINCH)(+63) song-birds (BULLFINCH) (+ dying animal; death of animal; dead animal)
  • 25F32(JAY)(+63) song-birds (JAY) (+ dying animal; death of animal; dead animal)
  • 25F39(KINGFISHER)(+63) other birds: kingfisher (+ dying animal; death of animal; dead animal)
  • 25F39(WOODPECKER)(+63) other birds: woodpecker (+ dying animal; death of animal; dead animal)
  • 25F39(HOOPOE)(+63) other birds: hoopoe (+ dying animal; death of animal; dead animal)
  • 25F37(+63) shore-birds and wading-birds (+ dying animal; death of animal; dead animal)
  • 47D8(NAIL) tools, aids, implements ~ crafts and industries: nail
  • 41A34 staircase

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Last update

24.11.2023