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Artwork
Still Life with Dead Peacocks
Rembrandt van RijnRijksmuseumAmsterdam1639
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- Technique
- oil paint (paint)
- Dimensions
- height 170 cm x width 162.5 cm x thickness 5 cm
In Rembrandt’s time, peacocks were eaten by the well-to-do: the meat was incorporated into meat pies, among other dishes. Immediately after being killed, the birds were hung to bleed out, as Rembrandt shows us in this storeroom. He was doubtless captivated by the plumage’s splendid marks, the riot of colours: blue, green and yellow ochre. Still Life with Dead Peacocks is a work by Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1639. oil paint (paint); height 170 cm x width 162.5 cm x thickness 5 cm. It is held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
How to reflect if you encounter this artwork?
- Notice how Rembrandt's use of oil paint captures the texture and sheen of the dead peacocks' feathers in this 1639 still life.
- Consider the mood evoked by the arrangement and subject of the dead peacocks, and how it might contrast with more typical vibrant still lifes.
- Examine the lighting in the painting and how it emphasizes certain details or creates shadows to enhance the composition.
- Reflect on the choice of subject (dead peacocks) and what emotions or ideas this might provoke compared to live animals in art.
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