Peacocks on the move!
These birds have flown to nest temporarily in an exhibition at Tate Britain, in a show devoted to the later 17th century and the first to explore baroque art in Britain.
The baroque emerged from the Catholic Church’s programme of propaganda against the Protestant Reformation in the 1600s. The art was designed to be larger than life, to inspire and reach viewers on an emotional level. Originally focused on religious content, painters gradually applied this lavish style to other subjects. It was particularly suited to royal portraiture, for example.
In Britain, Sir Peter Lely (1618–80) and Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723) made names for themselves at court. Lely’s portrait of James Scott, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch (1649–85) wearing the Order of the Garter can be seen at Fyvie Castle. And several portraits of the Earls of Mar by Kneller can be seen at Alloa Tower.
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James Scott, Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch (1649–85) by Peter Lely, c1663–83
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John, 6th Earl of Mar (1675–1732), and his son Thomas, Lord Erskine (1705–66) by Godfrey Kneller, c1710–23
Jacob Bogdany (1658–1724), also referred to as Jacob Bogdani or Jakob Bogdány, was renowned for producing large scale paintings, abundantly decorated with flowers and birds. He became fashionable at the court of Queen Anne with his paintings of riotous colour and profusion of foreign and domestic fowl.
Bogdany was born in what is now Slovakia, studied in Amsterdam and moved to London in his late twenties, where he lived for the rest of his life.
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Peacocks, Cockatoos and Other Birds in a Landscape by Jacob Bogdany, c1700-1724 - detail of peacocks and parrots, native to South Asia and Malaysia.
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Peacocks, Cockatoos and Other Birds in a Landscape by Jacob Bogdany, c1700-1724 - detail of the common chaffinch, native to Britain.
The painting will return to the dining room at Hill of Tarvit in April 2020. To learn more about the painting collection at Hill of Tarvit, visitors can sign up for an exclusive tour:
Going Dutch - The painting collection at Hill of Tarvit
For more about this Scottish house in the country, designed for entertaining and bringing up a young family, discover Hill of Tarvit in a new collection of essays.
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