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Against the setting sun, three hunting dogs rest beside an overflowing basket of dead birds and game. The two on the right are chained up; one sniffs the ground or laps water from an unseen bowl while the other stares, distracted, out of the picture frame. The unchained dog looks quizzically at a little owl, a type commonly used as a decoy bird during hunting, which stares unblinkingly out at us. The distinct plumage of song thrushes, jays and a redstart, as well as a duck and a partridge, are visible in the pile of dead birds. A dead hare lies prominently on its back across the birds. Stiff with rigor mortis, its position echoes that of the shotgun lying across its blood-flecked body. While a naturalistic still life, the scene invites the viewer to address the hierarchy of nature: the dominance of humans and their weapons, the subservience of the trained hunting dogs and the owl, and the vulnerability of their unfortunate prey.
Title
Dead Birds and Game with Gun Dogs and a Little Owl
Date
probably about 1672-94
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 96.2 x W 133.5 cm
Accession number
NG1903
Acquisition method
Presented by Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence, Bt, 1902
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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Dead Birds and Game with Gun Dogs and a Little Owl The National Gallery, London -
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