The Hunter, Adriaen Cornelisz Beeldemaker, 1653 – (Adriaen Cornelisz. Beeldemaker) ◄ Previous Next ►

Artist: Adriaen Cornelisz. Beeldemaker

Date: 1653

Size: 184 x 221 cm

Technique: Oil On Canvas

This monumental painting with an almost life-sized hunter accompanied by a pack of hounds was made in 1653, in a period when Adriaen Beeldemaker’s whereabouts are unknown. He had probably gained experience with the genre in his native Rotterdam, which flourished there thanks to the work of artists like Ludolf de Jongh and Abraham Hondius.8 This landscape includes no fewer than eight hounds, two of which are depicted with only their heads: the one of a spaniel type on the far right and another to the right of the fawn-coloured animal on the left. They are all hunting dogs, and there are at least two breeds. The greyhounds, with long legs and pointed snouts, were used for coursing, because their keen eyesight and speed made them ideal for tracking and overtaking game. The second main variety was generally the beagle, a running dog with hanging ears that followed the scent of the prey with its nose to the ground, barking as it went. However, the two smaller ones in the middle appear to be Brittany spaniels, ‘pointers’ which work closely with the hunter. They point at the game by standing motionless in front of it.9 The dead hare dangling from the barrel of the gun shows that the man is returning from the hunt. He is about to descend a hillock, with his companions going on ahead on horseback and in carriages. The artist picked a low vantage point that focuses attention on the action in the front, with great depth in the valley being suggested by the tiny size of the rest of the party. The chosen viewpoint also accentuates the menacing clouds above the landscape, reinforcing the drama of the scene. On only one other occasion did Beeldemaker place the dogs in the foreground of a composition with a figure also heading home. There, too, he devoted considerable attention to the sky,10 but that picture cannot rival the one in the Rijksmuseum, partly because of its much smaller size. A history piece of Diana hunting that measures 200 x 242 cm is the only work in Beeldemaker’s oeuvre that is larger.11 He did not often paint on this scale, which is why the Rijksmuseum canvas is rightly regarded as his finest achievement.12 It is a masterpiece from quite early in his career, and one that he was never again able to match. Richard Harmanni, 2022 See Key to abbreviations, Rijksmuseum painting catalogues and Acknowledgements