Jacob Savery - Concert of Birds

Follower of Jacob Savery (1566-1603)

Concert of Birds

18th-century
oil on panel
unframed: 42 × 44 cm (16.5 × 17.3 in)
framed: 53 × 54 cm (20.9 × 21.3 in)

Expertise: 
Stéphane Pinta, Cabinet Turquin, Paris. 

Provenance:
Private collection (Segersjö Manor, Sweden).

Condition: 
The painting is in a fine condition, having undergone careful conservation by restorer Sonia Léon (2024–2025). Only very minor retouching is detectable under UV light; the original glaze and pigment survive beautifully. The panel is stable and free of major cracks. It is shown in a richly gilded Baroque-style frame that complements the work; the frame has minor wear and several discreet repairs consistent with its age, but remains robust and handsome.

Essay:
This enchanting wood-panel painting assembles a menagerie of exotic and domestic fowl in a lush landscape, bathed in a gentle shaft of light from an overcast sky. The vivid blue peacock reigns at center atop a sandy mound, flanked by graceful white swans to the left. A proud rooster and a magnificent brown eagle (or similar raptor) stand to the right, while a variety of other birds—a heron or stork, a red-crested fowl, and smaller waterfowl—gather around. Above them, brilliantly colored parrots perch on a branch, adding bursts of red and green. The painter’s precise yet lively brushwork captures every shimmering feather and subtle shift of posture, creating a tableau that feels both natural and deliberately staged.

Artistic Tradition and Symbolism
This bird concert belongs to a well-known Flemish and Dutch tradition of the 17th–18th centuries, where painters depicted assemblies of birds as allegories. Such scenes often celebrate the sense of hearing or musical harmony in nature. In many examples, an owl sits perched like a conductor holding a musical score; here there is no visible owl or notation, but the composition itself — with birds turned as if to listen — suggests a silent music. A ray of light from heaven illuminates the gathering, hinting at divine harmony or a saintly blessing. Legend held that birds of Saint Francis of Assisi (sometimes called “birds of the devil” in old fables) could miraculously sing, and this subject was also linked to devotion to “Our Lady of the Birds.”

Jacob Savery’s Legacy and Similar Works
Jacob Savery (1566–1603) was a Flemish-born painter who settled in the Netherlands and became known for detailed landscapes and animal scenes. He trained his nephew Roelant Savery (1576–1639), who became famous for animal paradise scenes (often including a dodo and exotic birds). Jacob Savery himself (and his circle of followers) produced lush bird-and-animal compositions that influenced later generations.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, many artists in this Northern European tradition painted “concerts of birds.” For example:

• A Circle of Jacob Savery panel (sold at Christie’s) shows exactly this mix of swans, peacocks, parrots, cockatoos and other birds gathered in a landscape.

• Frans Snyders (Antwerp, 1579–1657) created at least five famous Concert of Birds compositions (early 1630s). In Snyders’ works (now in Madrid’s Prado, the Hermitage, Petworth House, etc.), 

• Jan Brueghel the Younger (Antwerp, 1601–1678) painted an Allegory of Sound: Concert of Birds on a small copper (in which many species perch on trees around an owl and sheet music). 

• Pieter Casteels III (Antwerp, 1684–1749) was an 18th-century specialist in flower and bird paintings. In 1727 he signed a large Concert of Birds oil on canvas featuring peacocks, swans, and other exotic birds very similar to ours.
  

Composition, Style, and Notable Features
The painter’s technique balances detail with atmosphere. Feathers are carefully rendered, giving each bird a lifelike presence. Yet the brushstrokes in the foliage and distant trees are freer, creating a soft-focus depth. The color scheme is warm and earthy: russets and ochres in the ground and eagle, deep blues and greens in the peacock, and the brilliant whites of the swans shimmering against the landscape. A glow filters through the clouds, spotlighting the central group – a theatrical effect also found in some Snyders and Casteels compositions.

Unlike many earlier bird-concert paintings which place all birds on branches or classical pedestals, this Follower of Savery version uses the open ground as a stage. The absence of a sheet of music or human figure makes the scene more naturalistic and mystical at once. The overall impression is both decorative (full of exotic variety) and symbolic (the beam of light and attentive poses suggest a shared moment of natural harmony).

Provenance: Segersjö Manor, Sweden
The painting originates from the collection of Segersjö Manor in the province of Närke (Sweden). Segersjö, a country estate built in 1776, was historically the seat of the noble Montgomery (later Montgomery-Cederhielm) family and is noted for its extensive picture gallery and library. Over centuries Segersjö passed through royalty and Swedish nobility (even receiving royal favour from Queen Christina and Karl XII) and was known for its cultivated taste.