The Falcon Hunt
c. 1658 - c. 1660
Medium
oil on copper
Dimensions
4; 38.1; 29.5; 25.8; 41.6
About this artwork
Reigerjacht. Een jachtgezelschap van dames en heren te paard rijdt door een heuvellandschap. In de verte een stad gelegen aan een meer aan de voet van een berg.
Art Historical Context
Philips Wouwerman’s *The Falcon Hunt* (c. 1658–1660) captures the refined pleasures of the Dutch Golden Age aristocracy. A fashionable company of ladies and gentlemen on horseback moves through a sunlit, rolling landscape, their elegant attire and poised figures contrasting with the lively energy of the hunt. In the distance, a town nestles beside a lake at the foot of a mountain, lending the scene a sense of expansive, almost theatrical space typical of Wouwerman’s compositions. Wouwerman was celebrated for his small-scale hunting and battle scenes, and this oil on copper exemplifies his tec...
About the Artist
Philips Wouwerman
Specialized in military and hunting scenes in which horses are prominent. Son of a little known painter in Alkmaar, Paul Joosten Wouwerman. Philips died at the age of 48 reportedly as the result of an accident, having created a large number of landscapes, battle scenes and the elegant life of his time, set in castles, parties, hunting, huntsmen and prized horses.