A Huntsman cutting up a Dead Deer, with Two Deerhounds
- Artist: Jan Baptist Weenix
- Date: 1647-60
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the "A Huntsman cutting up a Dead Deer, with Two Deerhounds" painted in 1647-60 by Jan Baptist Weenix. The scene shows a huntsman efficiently carving up a dead deer, surrounded by his two hounds who are ready to rejoin the hunt in the distance.
You can see the gun lying beside him, which gives you an idea of how the scene unfolded. In the 17th-century Netherlands, hunting was a privilege that not many people enjoyed. This picture would have been painted for an aristocratic collector who appreciated both the sport and the status symbol that came with it.
Jan Baptist Weenix was born in Amsterdam, but he spent some time studying in Rome as a young man. His experiences there influenced his later work, which often featured Italianate landscapes with soft, mellow light. The combination of these influences is evident in this painting.
See it in person
A Huntsman cutting up a Dead Deer, with Two Deerhounds hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
