Dead Partridge Hanging from a Nail

A single dead partridge hangs from a nail by a cord tied in an elaborate knot, and that is the whole picture. It is meant to fool the eye. Paintings like this, called trompe-l'oeil, French for 'deceive the eye', were very popular in the Dutch Republic in the middle of the 17th century, and the effect depends on the bird and the nail seeming to belong to a real wall in front of you.

Weenix painted it around 1650 to 1652. He is known mainly for sunlit Italian landscapes and harbour views, so this quiet canvas shows an unusual side of him. In 1654 Carel Fabritius, a pupil of Rembrandt, painted a small deception of his own, The Goldfinch, which also hangs in the Mauritshuis.

The partridge is not the museum's property. The Friends of the Mauritshuis, a society of private supporters, bought it in 1960 and have lent it to the museum ever since.