Overview
All of his life, Melchior painted animals but it was his bird paintings that gained him the widest acclaim. There is no marked development of his style during his career, often making his paintings difficult to date. Melchoir’s paintings are identifiably smooth and precise in their execution. His earliest dated work produced in 1668, now hangs in the National Gallery in London. This work, which has been attributed to him, is a river landscape with such fowl included as a brown goose, muscovy, teal and mallard and has all of the distinct characteristics of d’Hondecoeter’s hand.