Artwork
Dead Game
Dead Game is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Philipp Ferdinand de Hamilton. It dates from 1714 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1714, Dead Game is an oil painting by Philipp Ferdinand de Hamilton, a Southern Netherlandish artist active in early‑18th‑century Austria. The work belongs to the Flemish Baroque tradition and is part of the permanent collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst. It presents a meticulously rendered still‑life of hunted animals arranged on a darkened surface.
Subject & Meaning
The composition features a hare suspended upside‑down on the left, a duck similarly hanging on the right, and a smaller bird lying on the ground between them. By portraying the creatures with careful realism, Hamilton emphasizes the materiality of the hunt and suggests a quiet reverence for the animals after death, a theme he revisited throughout his career.
Technique & Style
Hamilton employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, contrasting bright illumination on the fur and feathers with a deep, almost black background. This lighting scheme creates a three‑dimensional effect and heightens the tactile quality of the textures. The brushwork is precise, rendering individual hairs and plumage with a naturalistic fidelity characteristic of Flemish Baroque still‑life painting.
History & Provenance
After its completion in 1714, the painting entered the Austrian market before eventually being acquired by the Statens Museum for Kunst. The museum’s records list it as a representative example of Hamilton’s oeuvre and of the broader tradition of game still‑lifes that flourished in the Southern Netherlands during the period.
Artist & collection
Artist
Philipp Ferdinand de Hamilton (c. 1664 – 1750), was an 18th-century painter from the Southern Netherlands active in Austria.
