Waterfowl and Stoats

Waterfowl and Stoats, 1601, in the Museo del Prado, shows the young Snyders at the beginning of his career combining two categories of animal subject — waterfowl and small predatory mammals — in a scene that has both naturalistic and allegorical dimensions. The stoat (or ermine in its winter coat) was associated in heraldry with purity and royalty, while waterfowl provided Snyders with a range of iridescent plumages to demonstrate his nascent naturalist skills. Whether the stoats are predating on the waterfowl or simply sharing a space with them, the combination creates a compositional dialogue between the quick, alert mammalian predators and the larger, more placid birds. As one of his earliest Prado paintings, this work entered the Spanish royal collection at a stage when Snyders was just beginning to establish his reputation.

The combination of waterfowl and stoats requires Snyders to differentiate between the iridescent plumage of the birds — whose feathers catch the light in multiple colours — and the sleek, monochromatic fur of the stoats. Duck and waterfowl plumage, particularly the iridescent head feathers of mallards and their relatives, was among the most technically demanding surfaces in bird painting, requiring multiple warm and cool glazes to suggest structural colour rather than pigmented colour. Stoat fur by contrast is short, fine, and uniform, rendered through tight overlapping strokes.