Bird Concert

Fijt was a pupil of Frans Snijders and a noted painter of animals. In the seventeenth century, ‘Bird Concerts’ were a popular theme and often ironic allusions. The red macaw sets the beat with its upraised claw. Except for the Flemish jay, none of the birds depicted here – a hen, a parrot, a blue heron, a cockerel, a pigeon and a peacock – can sing. The score on the tree trunk is illegible. A parody, perhaps?