Oil on canvas, in a carved and gilded frame, 36cm by 46.5cm.
The painting is a pendant to PIC474 and always thought, like that, to have been one of several canvasses by the artist acquired by John, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648-1700), whilst on the Grand Tour.
However, it is included in the Mss lists of Brownlow, 9th Earl of Exeter (1725-1793), implying that it was actually acquired by him more than eighty years after PIC474 was purchased by his great grandfather, almost certainly with the intention that they should be a pendant pair.
De Coninck, a Fleming, excelled in the depiction of birds and animals, usually in a landscape setting and often in scenes of great activity.
Here, he captures a charming scene and a more peaceful one.
