Parrots (scarlet macaw, grey parrot and toucan)

The parrots in this painting are literal quotations of some birds shown in the picture "Perroquets et autres oiseaux" [parrots and other birds], traditionally attributed to Frans Snyders, sometimes also linked with his workshop colleague and brother-in-law Paul de Vos (Musée de Grenoble, inv. no. MG 101). There is an inappreciable variation in the feathers and the colouring, though the ageing process has left obvious marks: the Salzburg work has darkened and the shades of blue in the scarlet macaws and the grey parrot pecking at the apricots are barely perceptible. Exotic birds brought from Brazil on Dutch ships were regarded as a real curiosity. In 1661, Prince-Archbishop Guidobald Thun purchased a red parrot and a white cockatoo. He or his successor, Max Gandolph, may possibly have purchased or commissioned the painting.

Habersatter Thomas: Frans Snyders, follower, Parrots (scarlet macew, grey parrot an toucan), in: Ducke Astrid, Habersatter Thomas (Hrsg./Edi.): von | from 0 auf | to 100. Residenzgalerie Salzburg 1923-2023. Salzburg 2023, S./p. 332-333