Artwork
Vixens Chased by Dogs
Vixens Chased by Dogs is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Frans Snyders. It dates from 1630 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Technique & Style
Created by Frans Snyders, the piece falls within the genre of animal art and depicts a dynamic scene featuring foxes and dogs.
Vixens Chased by Dogs is an oil painting executed on a canvas support. The work measures 111 cm in height and 83 cm in width. Created by Frans Snyders, the piece falls within the genre of animal art and depicts a dynamic scene featuring foxes and dogs.
The composition relies on the medium's capacity for rendering the movement and texture of the hunted animals, characteristic of the artist's specialization in this subject matter.
History & Provenance
Frans Snyders created the oil painting Vixens Chased by Dogs on canvas during the early 1630s. While one internal record assigns the work to the year 1630, broader cataloging data suggests an inception window spanning from 1630 to 1635. The artwork, which depicts a scene of dogs pursuing foxes, measures 111 cm in height and 83 cm in width.
The painting eventually entered the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, where it is currently housed. No specific details regarding the original commission or the intermediate ownership chain between the artist's studio and the museum are provided in the available records.
Vixens Chased by Dogs by Frans Snyders is held by the Museo del Prado, which is identified as both its collection and location. The painting, executed in oil on canvas, measures 111 cm in height by 83 cm in width. Its inception is recorded as 1630 (with a secondary Wikidata entry noting 1635). No specific inventory or accession number, nor any exhibition history, is documented in the available sources.
Context
This 1630 oil on canvas painting by Frans Snyders exemplifies his specialization in dynamic animal scenes, reflecting the broader Baroque fascination with vivid naturalistic subjects and the era's growing interest in depicting exotic wildlife within European art markets.
Scholarly analysis highlights its significance within Snyders' oeuvre, particularly in relation to his collaborations with Peter Paul Rubens, situating this work within the flourishing 17th-century Flemish tradition of hunting and wildlife painting that combined scientific observation with dramatic composition.
The painting's presence in the Museo del Prado collection underscores its enduring cultural value and institutional recognition of Snyders' contribution to animal art, where it remains part of their permanent display of Flemish masters.
Overview
Frans Snyders’ oil painting Vixens Chased by Dogs, executed around 1630, presents a lively chase set within a wooded landscape. The canvas is currently part of the collection of the Museo del Prado, where it is displayed among other examples of 17th‑century Flemish animal painting.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a pack of dogs in varied coats, straining forward as they pursue a group of fleeing vixens. The animals are rendered with kinetic vigor, their bodies twisted in motion, suggesting a narrative of predator and prey that reflects the era’s fascination with naturalistic observation and the moral undertones of the chase.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes, and still lifes.
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Still Life with Flowers, Grapes, and Small Game Birds
The Fruit Shop
Fish Market
Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits, and Vegetables in a Market
Larder Still life
Still Life with Huntsman
