_Melchior de Hondecoeter_ (Dutch: 1636-1695).
This painter, a member of a noble family of Brabant, devoted
himself to the poultry-yard, and became famous for his pictures
of fowl and other birds. His compositions show a constant study
of the subjects he treats. He studied first under his father,
Gysbert de Hondecoeter, and afterwards under his uncle, Jan
Baptist Weenix (1096).
"A beautiful brood of young chickens in the foreground. The cock was
Hondecoeter's favourite bird, which he is said to have taught to stand
to him in a fixed position as a model." (Official Catalogue).