Bird concert, Paul de Vos
As concertmaster, an owl holds a music book and conducts a gang of whistling, shouting and screaming forest, field and water birds. A few exotic birds complete the colourful company: a toucan, an amazon parrot and a red macaw. Here a story of Aesopus is depicted, but there is also a link with a famous saying of the Dutch poet Jacob Cats: Elck vogeltge singt soo 't gebeckt is. The canvas is based on a composition by Frans Snijders in the Hermitage in St Petersburg. Until recently it was thought to be a work by Jan van Kessel (Antwerp 1626 - 1679), who is best known for his accurate, small-scale studies of insects, flowers and shells. However, the style is more reminiscent of that of Snijders' brother-in-law, Paul de Vos.
