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The Threatened Swan
Jan Asselijn · Baroque & Dutch Golden Age
- Artist
- Jan Asselijn (c. 1610–1652)
- Date
- c. 1650
- Dimensions
- 144 x 171 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Threatened Swan shows a large white swan spreading its wings and hissing furiously as it defends its nest of eggs against a dog swimming towards it from the left. The swan's huge body fills almost the whole canvas against a dark sky.
A closer look
At first this was simply an animal painting, a dramatic life-size study of a mother bird protecting her young. Long after the painter's death, however, someone added three inscriptions: 'the Grand Pensionary' on the swan, 'Holland' on one of the eggs, and 'the enemy of the state' above the dog. The swan was thus turned into a political allegory of Johan de Witt, leader of the Dutch Republic, defending the country against its enemies. The painting was the first work bought for the national art collection that later became the Rijksmuseum.