rubens (1 Viewer)

In 1617 Rubens painted "Hearing" one of 5 paintings about the senses. Google it and count the number of birds you can identify. I would love to know where he got the cockatoo

eddwillis said:

In 1617 Rubens painted "Hearing" one of 5 paintings about the senses. Google it and count the number of birds you can identify. I would love to know where he got the cockatoo

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There's also a large painting in the Wallace Collection from about the same era, and it illustrates, perhaps appropriately, some birds of Wallacea and Australia...
MJB

Pic here.

African Grey Parrot and Red-and-green & Blue-and-yellow Macaws also in.

Well. It was on BBC4 tonight. This is a collaborative painting between Rubens & Bruegel. I learnt that much.
Is that a juvenile Greenfinch, or a badly painted Chaff? We got leucistic (olive oiled) Mistle Thrush, Winter Wren, LT Skua in flight (Arctic/Pom???) with the parrots, a Toucan sp., Barn & RR Swallow (?), Ostritch & chick, Turkey, is that generic wader a Snipe or Woodcock, or LBD? Then there's Lion, Leopard, Red & Roe Deer for the Mammalogists. Plus a Puddy Tat to finish all the Avifauna off! (European Wild Cat I'd say!)
Had a good laugh, and missed the point! :-O

phil baber said:

and missed the point!

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It was painted in 1617, long before Australian birds were known about in Europe - so where did he get the Cockatoo from?

Must presumably be a Yellow-crested Cockatoo from Indonesia. Still very good going to get one from there that early, Rubens must've been a world-class twitcher of his time :t:

Nutcracker said:

It was painted in 1617, long before Australian birds were known about in Europe - so where did he get the Cockatoo from?

Must presumably be a Yellow-crested Cockatoo from Indonesia. Still very good going to get one from there that early, Rubens must've been a world-class twitcher of his time :t:

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Well before the merchants of Europe decided to muscle in on the spice trade at source, spices were being traded from that Region, both to the East, Japan and China, and to the West, India, Persia Egypt and so on. Because spices were extremely valuable (Saffron today is more than £10, 000 per kilo: gold is cheaper!), the presentations and payments were often made in the presence of the rulers, or at the courts, and so it was customary for traders to sweeten the deal (pun intended) by giving exotic gifts, such as spectacular birds. The Habsburg Emperor in Vienna had a live Dodo amongst his collection in the early 17th century (See Danubia, by Simon Winder)!

The then 'owners' of the spice sources sent many ships to explore their Region, in an effort to find new sources of income and it is highly unlikely that they didn't visit the North Australian coast and obtain exotic creatures.

That said, I can well imagine a fast-taping trader passing off a Yellow-crested Cockatoo as their equivalent of a 'Norwegian Blue' (for those mystified by the reference, Google "Monty Python sketches") if a Sulphur-crested had expired in transit.:eek!:
MJB

I remember this being a Christmas cracker conundrum when I was a music student. The slightly different question was to identify all the musical instruments so splendidly painted.

(For anyone vaguely interested, there's a serpent, cornett, shawm, sackbutt, a whole chest of viols, recorders, various natural horns, cornemuse, harp, harpsichord, lute, tabor and some sort of trumpet.)
Someone may come along soon and identify the firearms and the timepieces.

What an astonishing painting this is - perhaps something to show Ms Emin and her ilk (but don't get me started).

Peter

Johann Sebastian Bach said:

What an astonishing painting this is - perhaps something to show Ms Emin and her ilk (but don't get me started). Peter

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'Time for unmade bed', said Zebedee, knowingly?
MJB

This might make it easier
https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the...y/zoom/2/obra/taste-hearing-and-touch/oimg/0/

MJB said:

'Time for unmade bed', said Zebedee, knowingly?
MJB

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:clap::clap:

Peter