Artwork
Self-Portrait as a Hunter
Self-Portrait as a Hunter is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Ary de Vois. It dates from 1660 and is held in the collection of the Mauritshuis.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
He is shown with waist-length red hair, accompanied by a hunting dog and holding a shotgun, with game visible nearby.
The work depicts the artist Ary de Vois portraying himself as a hunter, seated in a rural landscape. He is shown with waist-length red hair, accompanied by a hunting dog and holding a shotgun, with game visible nearby. The composition includes natural elements such as a tree trunk, branches, and a sky filled with clouds.
This self-representation combines the genre of portraiture with hunting imagery, presenting the artist not merely as a painter but as an active participant in the pursuit of game. The inclusion of the dog and the weapon reinforces the theme of hunting as the central subject.
Technique & Style
Ary de Vois executed Self-Portrait as a Hunter in 1660 using oil paint applied to a panel support. The work measures 28.7 cm in height and 21.8 cm in width. Stylistically, the painting depicts the artist with waist-length red hair, seated in a rural setting that includes a tree trunk, branches, and a sky with clouds.
The composition features the artist alongside a hunting dog and a shotgun, with game present in the scene. The formal arrangement captures the sitter in a seated pose, emphasizing the hunting theme through specific iconographic elements.
History & Provenance
Ary de Vois painted Self-Portrait as a Hunter in 1660, depicting himself as a hunter holding a shotgun and accompanied by a hunting dog in a rural landscape. The work is executed in oil paint on panel and measures 28.7 centimeters in height by 21.8 centimeters in width. It belongs to the portrait genre and specifically represents a self-portrait.
The painting is part of the Mauritshuis collection and remains on display there. No commission or ownership history beyond its inclusion in the Mauritshuis collection is documented in the provided sources.
Ary de Vois's Self-Portrait as a Hunter, created in 1660, is held in the collection of the Mauritshuis. The painting, executed in oil on panel, depicts the artist as a hunter accompanied by a dog and a shotgun. While the specific inventory or accession number is not provided in the available records, the work is confirmed to be part of the museum's permanent holdings in The Hague. No specific exhibition history is documented in the provided sources.
Overview
Ary de Vois’s Self‑Portrait as a Hunter, executed in oil in 1660, presents the artist seated on a rock with a rifle across his lap. A dead rabbit lies at his feet while a small dog curls nearby, and a landscape of trees and sky recedes behind him. The work is part of the Mauritshuis collection in The Hague.
Context
During the Dutch Golden Age, self‑portraiture often served to assert professional status and personal virtues. By portraying himself as a hunter, de Vois aligns with contemporary ideals of mastery, self‑reliance, and the cultivated leisure of the bourgeois class, situating the work within broader cultural narratives of the period.
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