Beschreibung:

Jakob Bogdani (Hungarian/London, ca. 1660-1724) "Exotic Birds in a Park with Hunting Dogs and a Still Life of Fruit" oil on canvas signed lower left, verso with various old auction inventory stencils in black and a "Robert Dirstein" (Ontario/New York interior designer) label. Framed. 39-7/8" x 40-3/4", framed 42-1/2" x 43-1/2" 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 Melchior de Hondecoeter (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 fine pedigree dogs and exotic birds he depicted like the fine pair of dogs and parrot 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 fur, plume, and fruit accentuated by dark backgrounds. A painting, strikingly similar in composition, with the same pendant pair of dogs was offered at Sotheby's, New York, January 31, 2013, as lot 195. Two additional paintings that match the description of these were offered in April 1751 in the estate sale of William Hubert of St. Martin's Lane, London (lot 107) and in the sale of the Earl of Lichfield, Shugborough Hall, in 1842 (lot 17). Examples of his work are conserved in the Royal Collection and Fitzwilliam Museum in London and in Magyar Nemzeti Galeria in Budapest.
Cleaned, relined and retained stretcher bars. Difficult to penetrate varnish layer with UV light. Signs of inpainting lower center (both dogs), lower and mid-right (grapes, leaves, bird); upper third (both birds and sky) and along edges; horizontal repair upper center (two birds on branch). Modern gilt frame with surface marks, nicks and abrasions.