Artwork
Starting for the Chase
Starting for the Chase is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Philips Wouwerman. It dates from 1660 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work captures the anticipation of the chase through the arrangement of its human and animal subjects against an architectural and natural backdrop.
Philips Wouwerman's Starting for the Chase depicts a genre scene set within a landscape, illustrating the moments before a hunt begins. The composition features specific figures, including a man and a woman, alongside horses, stairs, and a villa. These elements combine to create a narrative of preparation and movement characteristic of 17th-century Dutch genre art.
The work captures the anticipation of the chase through the arrangement of its human and animal subjects against an architectural and natural backdrop.
Technique & Style
Philips Wouwerman painted Starting for the Chase in 1660 using oil paint on an oak panel. The work measures 40 cm in width and 34 cm in height, depicting a man, horse, stairs, villa, and woman within a landscape genre. Executed in Haarlem, it is classified as a landscape painting and resides in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin collection.
The oil medium on panel support contributes to its textured surface and layered brushwork, characteristic of 17th-century Dutch landscape genres. Formal stylistic elements include dynamic composition and meticulous detail in architectural and figural motifs.
History & Provenance
Starting for the Chase is an oil painting by Philips Wouwerman dated to 1660. According to the Wikidata record for the work, it was produced in Haarlem and executed in oil paint on an oak panel.
The painting is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it remains located. The sources do not provide further information on a commission, intermediate ownership, or acquisition history prior to its entry into the Berlin museum's holdings.
No additional provenance details, such as earlier owners, dealers, or purchase records, are documented in the available sources.
Overview
Philips Wouwerman’s 1660 oil on canvas, Starting for the Chase, presents a lively equestrian procession moving toward a distant villa. The composition is anchored by a set of stairs that lead upward, guiding the viewer’s eye past riders, on‑foot figures, and a small child perched on a stone wall, all situated near a river and a solitary tall tree.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Philips Wouwerman (also Wouwermans) (24 May 1619 (baptized) – 19 May 1668) was a Dutch painter of hunting, landscape and battle scenes. He became prolific during the Dutch Golden Age and joined the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke.
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The Riding School
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Falconers setting out on a Hunt