Melchior de Hondecoeter was born in Utrecht as a scion of the well-known de Hondecoeter family of painters. His grandfather is the well-known landscape painter Gillis de Hondecoeter.His father, Gijsbert de Hondecoeter, provided Melchior de Hondecoeter's initial training, which was later completed by Jan Baptist Weenix, his uncle. The influences of Frans Snyder, who Hondecoeter admired, can also be seen in many of his paintingsOil on canvas, 120 x 97.5cm