Gojmir Anton Kos also included in this portrait the man’s pet – a parrot, very prominent with its eye-catching colors against the dark background, exotic, and a symbol of luxury. Historically, certain animals have often been subject to objectification and human control.
In Europe, parrots were first domesticated in Ancient Greece, brought back with Alexander the Great from India in the fourth century BC; wealthy Romans also kept them as a sign of opulence, luxury, and an embodiment of the Far East. This objectifying paradigm continued in Western Europe in the centuries that followed, flourishing especially among the middle-class; in Kos’s painting, too, the bird’s brightly colored plumage visually represents a luxury “owned” by the portrayed man.
The domestication of birds, in particular parrots, raises many questions, and in addition to control over animals, it also presents ethical issues about the relationship between humans and nonhumans. Parrots have difficulty adapting to captivity and especially to being alone, which triggers self-harming behaviors and symptoms of chronic stress. This type of stress in birds is a direct result of human control, which requires a critical attitude. Kos’s painting can be used as a case-study for exploring the objectification of pets and the ethical aspects of human control over nonhuman beings.
