Artwork
Hunter with his Gun and Dog. (Allegory of "Air")
Hunter with his Gun and Dog. (Allegory of "Air") is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Bernhard Keil. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1650 by Bernhard Keil, this oil painting functions as an allegory representing the element of Air.
Created in 1650 by Bernhard Keil, this oil painting functions as an allegory representing the element of Air. The composition depicts a hunter standing with a gun and accompanied by a dog, figures that traditionally symbolize the domain of the sky and atmosphere through the act of hunting birds. A basket is also present within the scene, likely holding the results of the hunt.
By using these specific attributes, the work personifies Air as one of the four classical elements, grounding the abstract concept in the tangible activity of the hunt.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1650, this allegorical work by Bernhard Keil is realized in oil paint on a canvas support. The composition formally depicts a hunter accompanied by a dog, with the figure holding a gun and a basket, elements that visually articulate the allegory of Air. The painting measures 97.7 cm in height and 72.4 cm in width.
Currently held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, the work exemplifies the artist's engagement with genre subjects through traditional oil mediums.
History & Provenance
Bernhard Keil executed the oil painting Hunter with his Gun and Dog (Allegory of "Air") in 1650. The work was created on canvas and depicts a hunter accompanied by a gun, a dog, and a basket, and measures 97.7 cm in height by 72.4 cm in width. It is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.
No specific details regarding the original commission or intermediate ownership are provided in the available records, which also supply no inventory or accession number and no record of the painting's exhibition history.
Context
The 1650 oil on canvas Hunter with his Gun and Dog (Allegory of "Air") is attributed to Bernhard Keil and belongs to the seventeenth-century tradition of allegorical painting. Its composition, a hunter with a gun, a dog, and a basket, embodies the personified element of Air. Measuring 97.7 by 72.4 cm, it forms part of the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where it sits among the museum’s seventeenth-century allegorical holdings.
Overview
Bernhard Keil's oil painting, Hunter with his Gun and Dog. (Allegory of "Air"), was created around 1650. This work, currently housed at the Statens Museum for Kunst, presents a contemplative scene featuring a hunter and his canine companion, subtly conveying an allegorical theme.
Rendered in oil paint, characteristic of the period, the composition invites viewers to consider its deeper symbolic meaning.
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