Who painted Still Life with Huntsman?

Still Life with Huntsman was painted by Frans Snyders in 1614-01-01.

Where can I see Still Life with Huntsman?

Still Life with Huntsman is held by Mauritshuis.

What movement is Still Life with Huntsman?

Still Life with Huntsman is associated with Flemish Baroque painting.

Still Life with Huntsman by Frans Snyders (1614)

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The inclusion of the cat has been read as a reminder of the transient nature of life, while the open window frames the natural world that supplied the feast.

The painting depicts a lavish still life centered on the spoils of the hunt, arranged before a window that opens onto a sky with clouds. A dead boar hangs prominently, flanked by game birds and a hare, while a huntsman’s horn lies nearby. A cat appears alert among the meats and produce, adding a note of animated life to the scene.

The composition juxtaposes the bounty of the hunt with cultivated fruits and vegetables, grapes, artichokes, cauliflower, and asparagus, alongside a partially peeled lemon, signaling both luxury and the Flemish taste for visual plenitude. The inclusion of the cat has been read as a reminder of the transient nature of life, while the open window frames the natural world that supplied the feast.

Technique & Style

Created in 1614, Still Life with Huntsman is an oil painting executed on a canvas support. The work measures 113.7 cm in height and 205.5 cm in width, classifying it within the Flemish Baroque movement. As a large-scale still life, the composition integrates genre elements by depicting a hunting scene that includes a hunter blowing a horn alongside an abundant display of game.

The arrangement features hanging meat, a hare, a pig, and various birds set against a backdrop containing a basket, fruit, vegetables, and a cat. The formal qualities emphasize the richness of the natural subjects, with specific attention paid to items such as asparagus, cabbage, and artichokes, all rendered in the artist's characteristic style.

History & Provenance

Frans Snyders created the oil-on-canvas painting Still Life with Huntsman in 1614. The work is a Flemish Baroque still life depicting a hunting scene that includes a hunter, game, and various foodstuffs. Its ownership history traces back to the collection of Willem V, Prince of Orange Nassau, before entering the holdings of the Mauritshuis museum. The painting measures 113.7 cm in height and 205.5 cm in width.

Still Life with Huntsman is housed in the Mauritshuis collection of the Prince William V Prince of Orange Nassau, accessioned under its standard inventory number. The work was first exhibited in the Mauritshuis gallery in 1881 and has remained part of the permanent display since its acquisition.

Context

Still Life with Huntsman belongs to the Flemish Baroque painting movement, situating Frans Snyders within the early seventeenth-century Antwerp school of still life and animal painters. The 1614 canvas exemplifies the genre conventions of Flemish Baroque still life, combining an abundant display of game, fruit, vegetables, and live animals with a genre scene of a huntsman sounding his horn. Such compositions, which fused still life with narrative hunting subjects, were a hallmark of Snyders's early career and helped establish the hunting still life as a distinct sub-genre in Flemish art.

The painting's current placement in the Mauritshuis, formerly part of the collection of Willem V, Prince of Orange-Nassau, reflects the broader eighteenth-century taste among Dutch and European aristocratic collectors for large-scale Flemish Baroque still lifes, which were prized for their dynamic compositions and lifelike rendering of game and produce.

Overview

Frans Snyders’ oil painting Still Life with Huntsman, executed in 1614, presents a richly arranged banquet of game and produce. A huntsman stands beside a table crowded with a rabbit, a boar’s head, turkey, pheasant, asparagus, cabbage and artichoke, while a window frames a tranquil landscape. The composition conveys a sense of plentiful harvest and the triumph of the hunt.