Asselijn's most famous work and the Rijksmuseum's first acquisition, The Threatened Swan, which portrays a swan aggressively defending its nest from a dog, became a symbol of Dutch national resistance, although it is unknown if the artist intended it to be so. Several inscriptions were added by later owners of the painting, including "Enemy of the state" above the head of the threatening dog, and "Holland" inscribed on one of the nested eggs.
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Jan Asselijn (circa 1610, Dieppe - 1 October 1652, Amsterdam), Dutch Golden Age painter. From a French Huguenot family, he received instruction from Esaias van de Velde, and distinguished himself particularly in landscape and animal painting, though his historical works and battle pieces are also admired. He traveled in France and Italy, and was a member of the
Bentvueghels, a society of mostly Dutch and Flemish artists then active in Rome. He had a withered hand and was small of stature, which earned him the nickname in France of
petit Jean Hollandois in France, and that of
Krabbetje - little claw - among the
Bentvueghels. He was one of the first Dutch painters to introduce a brighter, fresher approach to landscape painting, in the manner of Claude Lorraine. His work was held in high estimation at Amsterdam, and several of his paintings remain in its museums.
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