Lot 1113 Dα

Johann Jacob Hartmann rightly bears the moniker “Bohemia's Brueghel”. One look at this panoramic landscape shows how much the artist owed to the Flemish tradition of Roelant Savery and Jan Brueghel the Elder, although he himself was active in Bohemia. This depiction on copper shows a hunting party with their dogs at the edge of a woodland. One huntsman kneels with his gun ready, presumably awaiting the approach of more game, whilst another behind him guts the carcass of a deer. A group of helpers take rest on fallen logs at the edge of the wood, and a further group of five men with horses and dogs are shown hunting in the hollow on the right. The image displays a particularly accomplished use of depth and layering in the landscape, using a diagonal composition running from the lower right to the upper left. The way the light illuminates the delicate foliage to the right and left of the hollow is a further tribute to this artist's skill.