Marinus Adrianus Koekkoek II artwork • painting • for sale Rooster and three chickens in the farmyard

Marinus Adrianus Koekkoek, more commonly known as Marinus Adrianus II, belongs to the fourth generation of the Koekkoek family. He was born in Amsterdam and learned the subtle tricks of his painter’s craft from his father Willem. Even as a youth he felt drawn to painting landscapes and animals, partly through his contact with the conservationist Eli Heimans. For instance, in 1903 at the request of the English Duke of Bedford he painted his renowned animal park. Koekkoek was not only a painter but a clever draughtsman with an amazing brush technique. From 1918 to 1938 he was attached to the Natural History Museum, Leiden, as a scientific draughtsman, and almost single-handedly illustrated Prof. E.D. van Oort's 'Ornithologia Neerlandica'. The species and colouring of the animals he painted are faithfully true to life in every detail.