From the late Middle Ages onwards, a diverse still life art developed in the Netherlands. Animal and hunting still lifes combined realistic depiction with moral symbolism.
Symbolism in animal depiction
Animate and inanimate nature had been a subject of Dutch art since the end of the Middle Ages. It gradually developed into the independent genre of still life painting which, in turn, was divided up in several sub-genres, resulting in a highly market-oriented range of variations.
This development included still lives of animals and hunting, which occupies a special position between animate and inanimate matter to the extent that extinguished life still appears palpable in this case. It is all the more noticeable because the quarry is presented in front of a dark, virtually black niche, and stands out to great effect due to its very faithfully recorded hide or plumage. Depicted here with some snipes, the common brown hare completely dominates the picture. Best known for its reproductive proclivity and regularly depicted with captured birds, both it and them symbolise carnal desire, an often repeated warning in the art of the time.
A separate genre was the zoologically faithful depiction of animals as practised by specialist painters such as Dirk Valkenburg. Such portrayals ranged from game which could be hunted in the Netherlands to precious creatures from foreign continents radiating the aura of the exotic. This reflects the owner’s pride and need for luxury, both of which were typical of Amsterdam’s upper class in the late stages of the so-called 'Golden Age'. The combination of the enormous prosperity that such patricians enjoyed from overseas trade and their privileged position in the realm of politics had led them to adopt an aristocratic lifestyle, as can be seen in their magnificently furnished townhouses and lavish country estates before the gates of the metropolis.
Text: Ulrich Becker