Adriaen van Utrecht Poultry farm with turkeys,... Lot 1043

Adriaen van Utrecht Poultry farm with turkeys, geese and chickens Oil on canvas (relined). 116 x 171 cm. Signed and dated lower left: Adriaen van Utrecht fec. ann° 1647. Provenance Angerstein Collection? - Carlo Sestieri, Rome (until 1961). - Italian private collection. Van Utrecht's large-format compositions with various poultry and birds are among the most sought-after subjects by his hand. This composition from an Italian collection is a particularly impressive example of this. The focus is on a proud turkey with its bright red head, shiny dark feathers and its female entourage. On the other side, a white gander competes with his own for the food bowls. Utrecht captures the psychology of the animals just as aptly as he is able to capture the appearance of the individual animals on canvas. In 1961, the painting was purchased at Carlo Sestieri's gallery in Rome. In a letter to the buyer, Sestieri wrote that the painting originally came from the collection of John Julius Angerstein (1732 St. Petersburg - 1823 London), although he did not substantiate this statement. 38 paintings from this collection formed part of the core of the National Gallery in London when it was founded and are still part of its holdings today.