Artwork
The hunting party
The hunting party is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Adriaen van de Velde. It dates from 1669 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition emphasizes the relationship between man, animal, and nature, symbolizing harmony within the countryside and the aristocratic pastime of the era.
The hunting party depicts a lively outdoor scene of a mounted hunter accompanied by a dog and a tree, reflecting 17th-century Dutch genre scenes that celebrate pastoral leisure and the sport of the chase. The composition emphasizes the relationship between man, animal, and nature, symbolizing harmony within the countryside and the aristocratic pastime of the era. This meaning is reinforced by the work’s classification as a genre painting within the oeuvre of Adriaen van de Velde, created in 1669 for the private collection of Adriaan van der Hoop.
The painting measures 59.5 cm in height and 73 cm in width, executed in oil on canvas, and is held in the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam Museum collections.
Technique & Style
The hunting party is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for seventeenth-century Dutch cabinet pictures of this scale. The work measures 59.5 cm in height by 73 cm in width, a horizontal format suited to its open landscape composition featuring horses and trees. Its classification as a genre scene reflects the everyday, narrative subject matter rendered in the naturalistic style associated with Adriaen van de Velde's practice.
History & Provenance
The hunting party was created by Adriaen van de Velde in 1669, executed in oil paint on canvas. The earliest documented owner is Adriaan van der Hoop, from whose collection the work derives its provenance. It is now held jointly by the Rijksmuseum and the Amsterdam Museum, both of which list the painting as part of their holdings.
The work measures 59.5 cm in height by 73 cm in width, consistent with its mid-sized cabinet format typical of Dutch genre scenes of the period. No further details regarding the specific circumstances of its commission or intermediate ownership transfers between Van der Hoop and the present institutional custodians are recorded in the available sources.
The painting is housed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and is also part of the collection of the Amsterdam Museum, originally assembled by Adriaan van der Hoop. It was created by Adriaen van de Velde in 1669 as an oil on canvas work measuring 59.5 cm by 73 cm. The piece has been exhibited at the Rijksmuseum, where it remains on view as part of the museum's permanent display.
Overview
Adriaen van de Velde’s 1669 oil painting, titled The Hunting Party, presents a lively countryside tableau. Executed in the Dutch genre tradition, the work measures a modest size and is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection in Amsterdam. The composition centers on a stone gate framed by trees, where figures and animals gather in a moment of quiet activity.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Adriaen van de Velde, was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and print artist. His favorite subjects were landscapes with animals and genre scenes. He also painted beaches, dunes, forests, winter scenes, portraits in…
