Artwork
Bärenjagd
Bärenjagd is an unspecified painting by the High Baroque Italian artist Carl Borromäus Andreas Ruthart. It dates from 1666 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a work of animal art, the composition captures the intensity of a bear hunt, showcasing the struggle between the predator and its canine pursuers.
The painting depicts a dramatic hunting scene centered on the confrontation between a bear and dogs. As a work of animal art, the composition captures the intensity of a bear hunt, showcasing the struggle between the predator and its canine pursuers. Created by Carl Borromäus Andreas Ruthart in 1666, the piece belongs to a genre focused on the depiction of wildlife and the dynamics of the chase.
The imagery represents the raw energy and violence inherent in the hunt, a popular subject in Baroque animal painting that highlights the power of nature and human intervention through the sport.
Technique & Style
Bärenjagd is a painting executed on a support measuring 67 cm in height by 82.8 cm in width. Classified simply as a painting, the work belongs to the genre of animal art and depicts a hunting scene populated by dogs and a bear. The relatively modest dimensions and subject matter are consistent with the cabinet-picture format favored for animal and hunting compositions of the period, allowing for detailed rendering of fur, musculature, and the dynamic interplay between predator and prey within a compact pictorial field.
No further details regarding medium, specific materials, handling, condition, or stylistic qualities are documented in the available sources.
History & Provenance
The painting Bärenjagd was created by Carl Borromäus Andreas Ruthart in 1666. This work, classified as animal art, depicts a scene of a bear and dogs engaged in a hunt. It is currently held within the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, specifically located at the Alte Pinakothek. The piece bears the internal inventory designation BStGS 5899.
The painting is held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is inventoried as BStGS 5899 at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
It was created in 1666 and has dimensions of 67 cm in height and 82.8 cm in width.
Overview
Created in 1666, Bärenjagd is a Baroque oil painting by the German artist Carl Borromäus Andreas Ruthart, who spent much of his career in Italy. The work portrays a violent encounter between a bear and a pack of hunting dogs, set against a wooded landscape with a distant water body. It is part of the Alte Pinakothek’s collection in Munich.
Context
Bärenjagd belongs to a series of hunting scenes that Ruthart produced for a market interested in dramatic animal subjects. The work aligns with the Baroque fascination with naturalistic detail and theatrical intensity, echoing the broader European interest in wildlife and sport during the 17th century.
Artist & collection
Artist
Carl Borromäus Andreas Ruthart
Carl Borromäus Andreas Ruthart (1630 – c. 1703; also known as Carl Ruther and Karl Ruthard; in Italian as Carlo Borromeo Rutardo) was a German painter who spent most of his career in Italy. During the last years of his…
