Orpheus

In 1628, when Roelant Savery signed and dated this panel in Utrecht, the Dutch had been back at war with Spain for seven years, since a 12-year truce ran out in 1621. Against that background the National Gallery suggests the picture may be a quiet plea for peace. Orpheus, the musician of Greek myth, plays, and animals that would normally hunt or flee one another gather round him in calm. A lion and a lioness lie close to a pelican and a cockerel without a glance at them. Further off, a horse and a camel look across at a white elephant. Many of these creatures go back to studies the painter had made years before in the imperial menagerie at Prague. Ovid, who tells the story, gives Orpheus a lyre. For reasons that remain unclear, Savery put a violin in his hands instead.