A Little Owl and a Flock of Birds

This 1601 canvas from the Museo del Prado depicting a little owl and a flock of birds represents another early Snyders work addressing the bird-gathering conceit that would recur throughout his career. The owl surrounded by other birds was a subject with ancient roots in Aesop and the emblematic tradition: the owl as symbol of wisdom, surrounded by birds of different kinds, could carry meanings of counsel, isolation, or the confrontation between night and day. Small owls were also actual subjects of baiting behaviour in nature — small birds mob owls when they discover them in daylight — and Snyders may be depicting this real natural phenomenon alongside its allegorical dimensions. The owl's frontal face and fixed gaze make it one of the most psychologically direct of Snyders's bird subjects. The Prado's early Snyders collection provides a rare comprehensive view of his development from the very beginning of his documented career.

The owl's facial disc and forward-facing eyes require different handling from profile or three-quarter bird portraits. The fixed, almost human quality of the owl's gaze is achieved through careful iris and pupil rendering within the large facial disc. The surrounding flock of birds creates a more loosely handled context of motion and variety around the static owl at the centre.