Still Life with Dead Fowl

There are nine known still lifes by the landscape painter Salomon van Ruysdael, uncle of the more famous Jacob. Most of them show dead birds; one of them is a still life with fish. The works are all dated, and were made in the 1659-62 period, when the painter was around sixty years old. During this time Van Ruysdael continued to paint landscapes. This panel depicts a wicker basket containing dead finches, blackbirds and song thrushes.
At this time, songbirds were caught with nets and limed twigs, and were eaten.