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A Cock, Hens and Chicks, c.1668/70 by Melchior d'Hondecoeter
Canvas Print - 22216-DHM

Location: National Gallery, London, UK
Original Size: 85.5 × 110 cm

Own a museum-grade giclée Canvas Print of A Cock, Hens and Chicks by Melchior d'Hondecoeter (c.1668/70). It is printed with archival pigments on 400 g/m² canvas and hand-varnished with a UV-protective layer. Set your exact proportional size—anything up to 31.9 × 41.3 in, with optional framing. Free worldwide shipping for rolled artworks. Unframed prints ship within 48 h, framed prints in 7-8 days. Guaranteed 100-year color durability.

A Cock, Hens and Chicks, c.1668/70 | Melchior d'Hondecoeter | Giclée Canvas Print
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Giclée Canvas Print | $71.12 USD

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SKU:22216-DHM
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Largest Available
31.9″ × 41.3″
Framing: Long Side Up to 28"
Can be Framed

Sizes scale proportionally to the original. Dimensions shown are for the printed area - we always add 1.2 inches in borders beyond these dimensions for stretching.

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If you want a painting which is not in our catalogue

Also Available as Oil Painting Reproduction

Your Questions Answered: Fine Art Prints, Framing, Care & Delivery

Giclée Print Quality 400 g/m² Canvas (Satin Gloss) + 1.2 in Borders for Stretching 100+ Year Colour Guarantee Free WorldWide Shipping!

Most people search for “canvas print” or “wall art” - but what they’re really looking for is a giclée print: a museum-grade reproduction of the original masterpiece, printed with archival pigment inks on fine art canvas.

Giclée (pronounced 'zhee-clay') is a French term meaning 'to spray,' referring to how ink is precisely sprayed onto canvas or paper, creating incredibly detailed fine art prints. It’s the gold standard in museum-quality printing, loved by artists, galleries, and museums worldwide.

Your artwork will be printed on premium canvas using vibrant archival inks, faithfully capturing every brushstroke and subtle nuance of Melchior d'Hondecoeter's original. To ensure lasting beauty, each print is finished with a protective UV varnish. Far superior to ordinary posters, your canvas print will look and feel like a real painting, retaining its vivid colors and pristine details for more than 100 years.

About Giclée Fine Art Printing

Here's a simple trick: use painter’s tape to mark the print size directly on your wall, and step back to see how it feels. Generally, larger sizes around 36 in wide work beautifully in living rooms or open spaces. Medium sizes around 24 in fit nicely in bedrooms, hallways, or offices. Hanging it above a sofa? Choose a print that's roughly two-thirds the width of your couch. Still unsure? Start with our popular 16.7 × 21.7 in size—it fits comfortably in most spaces!

For a more artistic approach: choosing a size closer to the original artwork ensures you experience the artist’s intended visual impact and authenticity. Of course, since most of us don't live in spacious baroque palaces, your available space and personal taste should ultimately guide your decision.

In many cases, yes! If you need a specific size to fit a particular space or frame, feel free to reach out—we're happy to see what’s possible. Because each print is made to order, we can often accommodate custom dimensions as long as they respect the proportions of the original painting.Just send us an email at info@topartprint.com with the title of the artwork and the size you're looking for. We’ll get back to you quickly with options and pricing.

Good to know: when you choose the size of your artwork, the Print Size shown in the Your Selection box refers to the actual image area—that’s the part you’ll see once the canvas is stretched or framed.

The Total Size includes an additional 1.2 in white border on each side, added specifically for stretching.
So yes—this white border is added on top of your selected print size. You get the full artwork at the dimensions you picked, plus extra canvas to make stretching smooth and professional.

For example, if you select a 16.7 × 21.7 in print, the full canvas you receive will measure 19.1 × 24.0 in—giving your framer plenty of room to create a clean, gallery-quality stretch.

Both options are wonderful choices! Going unframed gives you maximum flexibility—you can take your print to a local framing shop for personalized options and expert advice tailored to your décor. This is especially great if you have specific design ideas or want to match existing frames in your home.

However, keep in mind that a print truly comes to life when properly framed. Art professionals often say: 'The frame contributes 30% of the artwork’s overall impact.' A well-chosen frame elevates and completes your print.

If you choose our framing option, your print will arrive professionally framed and ready to hang right out of the box. We focus exclusively on traditional framing methods, ensuring every artwork receives the respectful presentation it deserves—this is why we don't offer gallery wrap options.

Important shipping note: Due to courier restrictions, we can ship framed prints up to 28 in on the longest side. Larger prints will arrive safely rolled in a tube, ready for you to frame locally.

For more detailed information, please see our complete guide to fine art framing methods.

We've carefully selected this premium canvas because it brings out the absolute best in Melchior d'Hondecoeter's work. Made from natural cotton with a 400 g/m² weight, it has just the right texture to capture every brushstroke and detail of the original painting.

What makes our canvas special? The satin-gloss finish. Think of how paintings look in museums with that beautiful varnish—that's exactly the effect we're going for. This glossy surface makes colors pop with incredible vibrancy while giving deep, rich blacks that matte canvases simply can't achieve. The result? Your print has that authentic 'real painting' look with extraordinary depth and life.

Plus, our canvas is acid-free and pH-neutral, so it'll stay beautiful for generations. We believe A Cock, Hens and Chicks deserves nothing less than this museum-quality treatment.

Every print is made just for you—no mass production here! Once you place your order, we begin creating your A Cock, Hens and Chicks print with care and precision.

Unframed prints are crafted in 2–4 business days.
Framed prints take 7–8 business days to build and finish.

Shipping options:
Standard Delivery (Free): Up to two unframed prints per order, provided that the short side does not exceed 59 cm (approx. 23 inches), with delivery in 10–14 working days.
Express Shipping: Delivered in 2–4 working days; costs vary by weight, volume, and destination. After adding the artwork to your cart, use the Shipping estimates tool there for exact pricing.

Note for framed prints: Because they’re bulkier and higher-value, framed artworks ship only via express tracked service and do not qualify for free standard delivery.

Packaging:
Unframed prints: Safely rolled in postal tubes.
Framed prints: Packed in reinforced boxes with corner protectors and bubble wrap.

You’ll receive a tracking number as soon as your order leaves our studio—so you can follow every step of its journey!

It’s super easy! Your giclée print is designed to last over 100 years when properly displayed. We’ve already applied a UV-protective varnish, so there’s no need for any extra treatments on your part.

Just follow these simple tips:
  • Hang your print away from direct sunlight and high humidity
  • Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth if needed
  • Avoid touching the printed surface directly
  • Keep the room temperature relatively stable
That’s it! With these basic precautions, your Melchior d'Hondecoeter print will retain its vibrant colors and pristine condition for generations to come.

We want you to truly love your art. Since each piece is custom-made just for you, we kindly recommend double-checking the size and details before placing your order. But if something’s not right—especially in terms of quality—we’re here to help and will make it right.

We offer a 30-day return policy and accept returns for items damaged during shipping. Our return process is simple and straightforward:
Step 1 – Let us know: Send an email to info@topartprint.com with your order number and a brief explanation of the issue.
Step 2 – Send it back: We’ll reply with clear instructions for returning the print. Please return it in its original packaging and in good condition. You cover return shipping (unless we sent a damaged/incorrect item). After inspection, we'll send a replacement or refund the product price.
Please note: shipping costs are non-refundable.

For framed artworks: Since framed prints are handcrafted specifically for your order, returns are accepted only at our discretion and require a valid reason. But don’t worry—our support team is friendly, responsive, and ready to assist.

About the Painting

A tiny black chick tears across the foreground, wings flung wide, beak open in what must surely be a desperate cheep. It is a small, comic detail – easy to overlook amid the grandeur of the cockerel looming at centre right – but it anchors the whole scene in something alive and urgent, a moment seized.

Melchior d'Hondecoeter painted birds the way Rubens painted flesh: with sensuous attention to surface, volume, and the play of light across varied textures. In A Cock, Hens and Chicks, probably completed around 1668–70, every feather reads differently. The sitting hen at left is a cloud of white plumage, almost absurdly soft, caught by a low sun that makes her glow against the shadowed wall behind. Beside her, a darker hen tips forward, tail feathers stiff and barred, their patterning rendered with the patience of a miniaturist. Then there is the cockerel himself – chest swelled with coppery red, crest spiked and eccentric, tail arching back in iridescent black shot through with deep green and purple. You can almost feel the difference between his wiry hackle feathers and the downy warmth of the chicks at his feet.

Composition here is deceptively casual. The birds cluster in a loose, diagonal band that sweeps from lower left to upper right, anchored on one side by an overturned wicker basket and a wooden yoke, on the other by the cockerel's vertical stance against an open sky. A wild pigeon perches atop the basket, and a finch – wings spread mid-flight – darts in from the left, bringing a flicker of wildness into this domestic tableau. Behind everything, tall trees and a suggestion of distant mountains create a backdrop more Italianate than Dutch, an idealized landscape that lifts the scene from farmyard to something closer to pastoral theatre.

D'Hondecoeter was not interested in the muddy poultry yards of painters like Isack van Ostade. His birds are immaculate specimens, groomed and glamorous, probably Polish fowl – a breed established in the Netherlands by this period, prized for their eccentric looks and prolific egg-laying. The pale gold hen gazing upward at the cockerel has a crested head that confirms the type. These are not scruffy barnyard creatures. They are performers, arranged with care.

Light does quiet, essential work throughout. A warm, late-afternoon glow rakes across the birds from the left, picking out the white hen, gilding the chicks, and catching the red of the cockerel's breast while leaving the background in muted umber and olive. The tonal range is narrow but precisely controlled – nothing competes with the birds themselves. One might imagine the air here as still and thick, the kind of heavy golden hour before dusk when sounds carry: the scratch of tiny claws on packed earth, the flutter of that arriving finch.

What sets Melchior d'Hondecoeter apart from mere natural-history illustration is this sense of drama and personality. The cockerel struts with almost comic self-importance. The hens defer, or don't. The chicks go about their business, oblivious. That same small black chick running in from the far left turns up in another d'Hondecoeter painting now in Karlsruhe, where the mood is far less serene – two cockerels locked in vicious combat over a hen. Here, though, the world is orderly, prosperous, and peaceful. Perhaps that is the fantasy this painting sold to its original owner: nature as spectacle, the farmyard as Eden, every feather in its perfect place – yet with just enough flutter and cheeping to keep it from becoming a still life.

New
Birds, Butterflies and a Frog among Plants and Fungi, 1668 | Melchior d'Hondecoeter

Birds, Butterflies and a Frog among Plants and Fungi 1668
Giclée Canvas Print
$79.78
SKU: 22217-DHM
Melchior d'Hondecoeter
Original Size:68.3 × 56.8 cm
National Gallery, London, UK
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