Threatened Swan

"Threatened Swan" depicts a life-size swan defending its nest against a dog swimming towards it. With menacingly outspread wings, the swan is vigorously defending its nest against the dog swimming up from the left. The scattered feathers and the low angle from which the bird is viewed emphasize its fury. The painting was transformed at a later date into an allegory on the vigilance of the Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt by inscriptions added by an unknown hand: under the swan 'De Raad-Pensionarie' (the Grand Pensionary); on one of the eggs in the nest 'Holland'; and above the dog, 'de viand van de Staat' (the enemy of the State). Thus the swan was meant to represent the Grand Pensionary protecting Holland. The enemy was presumably De Witt's adversary, England.