Title: The Threatened Swan
Description: The Threatened Swan (Dutch: De bedreigde zwaan) is an oil painting of a swan made around 1650 by Dutch Golden Age painter Jan Asselijn. The work is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The oil painting on canvas is 144 centimetres (57 in) high and 171 centimetres (67 in) wide. The painting's subject is a life-size mute swan (Cygnus olor) defending its nest against a dog. At the bottom right, the painting is signed with the monogram "A". By 1880, the painting was interpreted as a political allegory of grand pensionary (the highest official in the Dutch Republic) Johan de Witt protecting the country from its enemies. Three inscriptions had been added: the words "de raad-pensionaris" (the grand pensionary) between the swan's legs, the words "de viand van de staat" (the enemy of the state) above the head of the dog on the left, and the name "Holland" on the egg on the right.
Author(s): Jan Asselijn