Melchior d' Hondecoeter: The Menagerie (1690)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Hondecoeter specialized in paintings of all kind of birds. This painting is a good example of his work. This painting was commissioned by Willem III, Prince of Orange and King of England for his palace 'Het Loo'. The painting itself is purely decorative. On the painting we can see 2 squirrel monkeys from Central America, two white sulphur-crested cockatoos from Australia, a grey parrot from Africa and a purple-naped lory – on a chain at the lower left – from Indonesia. This painting is from 1690.