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In this painting, Wouwerman departs from the tradition of Dutch naturalistic landscape painting and instead offers an imaginary and romanticized depiction of country life. Rather than focusing on the violence of the capture, Wouwerman shows the hunt as an exciting pastime, peopled by elegant hunters on their galloping steeds, eager dogs, and hotly pursued stags. The warm light and pastel-colored sky are reminiscent of the imaginary Italianate landscapes so popular at the time.
The Stag Hunt
Philips Wouwerman (Dutch, 1619–1668)
about 1659–60
Medium/Technique
Oil on copper
Dimensions
27 x 34.9 cm (10 5/8 x 13 3/4 in.)
Framed: 43.8 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm (17 1/4 x 20 x 2 in.)
Framed: 43.8 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm (17 1/4 x 20 x 2 in.)
Credit Line
Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Accession NumberL-R 23.2019
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
In this painting, Wouwerman departs from the tradition of Dutch naturalistic landscape painting and instead offers an imaginary and romanticized depiction of country life. Rather than focusing on the violence of the capture, Wouwerman shows the hunt as an exciting pastime, peopled by elegant hunters on their galloping steeds, eager dogs, and hotly pursued stags. The warm light and pastel-colored sky are reminiscent of the imaginary Italianate landscapes so popular at the time.
ProvenanceBy 1719, Lothar Franz von Schönborn (b. 1655 – d. 1729), Schloss Weissenstein, Pommersfelden [see note 1]; by descent to his nephew, Friedrich Karl von Schönborn (b. 1674 – d. 1746), Schloss Weissenstein, Pommersfelden [see note 2]; by descent within the family to Arthur Franz Maximilian (b. 1846 – d. 1915), Graf von Schönborn, Schloss Weissenstein, Pommersfelden [see note 3]; May 17, 1867, Schönborn sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 138. Possibly Henri d'Orleans, duc d'Aumale, Château de Chantilly (b. 1822 - d. 1897). William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley (b. 1817 - d. 1885), Dudley House, London [see note 4]. Thomas Agnew and Sons (dealer), London. May 31, 1989, anonymous (“private collection”) sale, Christie's, New York, lot 131. 1989, Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, Coral Gables, FL. Robert Noortman (dealer), Maastricht [see note 5]; sold by Noortman to a European private collector, probably Benoit Wesley, Maastricht [see note 6]; December 12, 2002, anonymous (“Property of a European Private Collector”) sale, Sotheby's, London, lot 26, sold to Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo, Marblehead, MA.
NOTES:
[1] Included in the 1719 inventory of Lothar Franz von Schönborn, compiled by Rudolf Bys, no. 31. Katharina Bott, Rudolf Bys, Fürtrefflicher Gemähld- und Bilderschatz: Die Gemäldesammlung des Lothar Franz von Schönborn in Pommersfelden (Weimar: VDG, 1997), p. 80, no. 244.
[2] Marco Antonio Engman, Beschreibung des fürtreflichen Gemälhd- und Bilder-Schatzes, welcher in denen hochgräflichen Schlössern und Gebäuen deren Reichs-Grafen von Schönborn, Bucheim, Wolfstahl (Wirtzburg, 1746), cat. no. 32, as “A Perforce hunt,” by Wauwerman, measuring 10 x 13 in. The catalogue contains an engraving by J.B. Gutwein of the coat of arms of Friedrich Karl, Reichsgraf von Schönborn.
[3] According to the Katalog der Gräflich von Schünborn’schen Bilder-Gallerie zu Pommersfelden (Wurzberg, 1857), p. 17, cat. 107, as "Stag, Parforce Hunt" on copper.
[4] According to 1989 Christie's catalogue.
[5] According to the 2002 Sotheby’s catalogue.
[6] According to Frederik Duparc, Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection (New Haven, 2011), cat. no. 67.
NOTES:
[1] Included in the 1719 inventory of Lothar Franz von Schönborn, compiled by Rudolf Bys, no. 31. Katharina Bott, Rudolf Bys, Fürtrefflicher Gemähld- und Bilderschatz: Die Gemäldesammlung des Lothar Franz von Schönborn in Pommersfelden (Weimar: VDG, 1997), p. 80, no. 244.
[2] Marco Antonio Engman, Beschreibung des fürtreflichen Gemälhd- und Bilder-Schatzes, welcher in denen hochgräflichen Schlössern und Gebäuen deren Reichs-Grafen von Schönborn, Bucheim, Wolfstahl (Wirtzburg, 1746), cat. no. 32, as “A Perforce hunt,” by Wauwerman, measuring 10 x 13 in. The catalogue contains an engraving by J.B. Gutwein of the coat of arms of Friedrich Karl, Reichsgraf von Schönborn.
[3] According to the Katalog der Gräflich von Schünborn’schen Bilder-Gallerie zu Pommersfelden (Wurzberg, 1857), p. 17, cat. 107, as "Stag, Parforce Hunt" on copper.
[4] According to 1989 Christie's catalogue.
[5] According to the 2002 Sotheby’s catalogue.
[6] According to Frederik Duparc, Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection (New Haven, 2011), cat. no. 67.