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Study of a Chameleon

ca. 1668

Not on view

Records mention a chameleon presented to the king for the Versailles Menagerie in 1668; it was most likely the one shown creeping along here. The animal was studied and later dissected by members of the newly founded Académie des Sciences. Painting from life, Boel sketched the various denizens of the recently finished Menagerie, which housed exotic birds and animals as well as livestock and domestic fowl for the royal table.

Study of a Chameleon, Pieter Boel (1622–1674), Oil on canvas — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Study of a Chameleon

Artist: Pieter Boel (1622–1674)

Date: ca. 1668

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: Unframed: 13 3/4 × 17 11/16 in. (35 × 45 cm)
Framed: 17 1/8 × 21 1/16 in. (43.5 × 53.5 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Musée du Louvre, Paris, Département des Peintures, Collection de Louis XIV (3976)

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