seCtion 5 | Chase to the death

“rabbiting, hunting, quailing and fishing are man’ s recreations, to his mind and mood, his heart and life, they bring exultations … ” (istván koháry, Let us not succumb to sorrow, but rather live out our days in mirth, 1682–1685)

41

Small tablet with a scene of Shoshenq III hunting lions

third intermediate period, 22nd dynasty, reign of shoshenq iii (825–773 bCe) steatite, originally glazed white, 2.5 × 1.9 cm purchased, 2007 inv. no. 2007.1-e Museum of fine Arts, Collection of egyptian Antiquities

the obverse of the tablet, serving as a protective amulet, shows the healed eye of the god Horus, the udjat-eye, which was an apotropaic sign of integrity and successful regeneration, but also symbolised the sun eye, which renewed daily. on the reverse, in a complex scene of a lion hunt, shoshenq iii uses a spear to kill one beast as it leaps towards him, while his hunting dog grapples with the other. beneath the pharaoh’ s feet lie symbolic figures of the defeated enemy. the depiction of the king in festive costume suggests that this is not a specific hunt: the composition as a whole reflects the otherworldly notion of “justification against the enemy, ” a precondition for “coming out” (i.e., rebirth) at dawn. it was only if they were in possession of this justification that the dead, now in the otherworldly cyclic orbit of the sun, could regain their specific wsr power and begin to restore order disrupted by chaos (that is, death). to do so, the dead had to deal with their enemies, identified here as lions, passing through the dangerous transitional section of the afterlife. in this task, they were protected by being in possession of the justification, which also guaranteed them free passage from the otherworld, through the lion-guarded horizon gate leading to this world.

pÉter JóZsef gAbodA

literAture: gaboda 2012, 219–33; gaboda in kóthay and liptay 2012, cat. no. 43, pp. 92–93; gaboda 2013, 21–50.

138

42

Large commemorative scarab of Amenhotep III: lion hunt

new kingdom, early in the reign of Amenhotep iii (early 14th century bCe) sericite schist, 7.5 × 4.7 cm Acquired by the Hungarian national Museum in 1916 by bequest from baron ferenc révay, transferred to the Museum of fine Arts in 1934 inv. no. 65.3-e Museum of fine Arts, Collection of egyptian Antiquities

the reign of Amenhotep iii saw the appearance of the so-called large commemorative scarabs, which did not carry representations on the lower surface of their body, but only longer texts. they were probably issued at various festive ceremonies, presented as gifts to members of the elite of the time, or offered to temples as donations. the eight-line text on the lion-hunt commemorative scarab is also indirectly about how the sacred ruler fulfils his various duties by ensuring order in the empire. After mentioning the full royal name of the pharaoh and the name of Queen tiye, it reports that in the first ten years of his reign, the king killed a total of 102 wild lions. due to its immense strength and wild nature, the lion was one of the animals with which the pharaoh willingly identified, using it as a symbol of his own power and determination. the beast may also have symbolised the chaos that threatened the order of the empire and the strength of hostile powers. by hunting them, the pharaoh symbolically indicated that he was able to defend, maintain, and even cyclically renew his reign against the enemy. in the same way, the former owner could have hoped for this piece to provide renewal and a regeneration of full health. the scarab’ s body was drilled through, suggesting it was used as an amulet.

pÉter JóZsef gAbodA

literAture: wessetzky 1965, 75–77; gaboda in kóthay and liptay 2012, cat. no. 31.

140

43

Roman-era oil lamp depicting a dog attaching a stag

late 1st century – first half of 2nd century Ce Clay, made using a negative mould length: 7.4 cm; height: 2.3 cm from the collection of istván delhaes, transferred from the Hungarian national Museum, 1950 inv. no. 50.1146 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of Classical Antiquities

the circular oil lamp stands on a low pedestal, its shoulders are adorned with an egg pattern and its plate (discus) is decorated with a relief scene. the body has two openings: a small hole in the plate was used to pour in the oil, while the burner hole at the end of the nose was used to feed out the wick, dipped in oil. the potter did not make the lantern on a potter’ s wheel, but with the help of two negative moulds of terracotta or plaster, into which he pressed the clay and then fitted the upper and lower parts together. oil lamps were perhaps the most common type of object from the roman period, produced in large quantities and in series, in a wide variety of shapes. the discus was often decorated with a scene from everyday life or from the world of myths. this piece shows a two-figure composition of a dog attacking a fleeing stag. in the roman imperial era, hunting was a favourite pastime of the elite, but it also played an important role in military training, so it is no surprise that its depiction was popular in the art of the era. oil lamps feature depictions of wild animals (lion, boar, deer, hare) and hounds, sometimes alone and sometimes during the chase. the hunter himself is less frequently shown; when he does appear, it is often as a character from a mythical hunting story (such as Artemis or Meleager).

CsAbA bodnÁr

literAture: szentléleky 1969, cat. no. 164, tables 100, 102 and 164a–b; bailey 1972, table 12f; Anderson 1985.

142

44

Etruscan brazier, with a depiction of hare hunting

ca. 550–525 bCe roughly worked clay, relief decoration made with cylinder seal Height: 14.1 cm; diameter: 46.5 cm gift, 2000 inv. no. 2000.25.A Museum of fine Arts, Collection of Classical Antiquities

the rim of this large clay (impasto) brazier is surrounded by a relief decoration made with a cylinder seal. the same scene is repeated six times in each band of the decoration, showing, from left to right, a bird, two fighting goats, and a male figure. the figure, identifiable as a hunter, is holding two curved sticks, typically used for hunting hares, and with the help of two dogs he is driving a hare towards the net stretched out in front of it. similar braziers were made in the workshops of Cerveteri (known in antiquity as Cisra, Agylla, and Caere), about forty kilometres northwest of rome, in the sixth century bCe. the pots, filled with embers, could be used for heating, but also for cooking food. they were used as household items, but were often also placed next to the dead in their graves. Hunting, especially of wild boar and hares, is a common theme in the decoration of the brazier. while the scenes of wild boar hunting may have evoked a greek legend (the exploits of Meleager on the hunt at Calydon) in the minds of ancient viewers, hare hunting is not linked to any mythical story. the depiction, however, drawing on the world of real-life hunts, was suitable for expressing a key aspect of the aristocratic way of life and remained popular in etruscan art for centuries.

sZilViA lAkAtos

literAture: pieraccini 2003, 94–95; szilágyi 2004; szilágyi 2007, 30–32, table 11.

144

45

Moderno (gAleAZZo MondellA) (Verona, 1467 – Verona, 1528) Lion Hunt

between 1480–1525 bronze, height: 8.1 cm purchased from A. s. drey, Munich, 1920 inv. no. 6272 Museum of fine Arts, sculpture Collection

galeazzo Mondella, one of the most influential plaquette and medal makers in renaissance italy, was born into a noble family of Verona. He initially headed his own guild of goldsmiths, but later joined the circle of goldsmiths around pier Jacopo Alari bonacolsi, known at the court of the Marquis of Mantua as “Antico ” , as his style perfectly reflected the art of antiquity. this experience was decisive in Mondella ’ s mastering of classical forms. He was also influenced by several workshops in northern italy, which helped him to develop his own style and adopt the name “Moderno ” , which can be found on dozens of works associated with him. His composition of a lion hunt draws on a number of ancient precedents: the figure of the rider in the foreground appears in the frieze of trajan on the Arch of Constantine in rome, while the rider in the background, as well as the lion attacking his victim, as he attempts to defend himself with his shield, are images found on late classical sarcophagi. the composition of the plaquette depicting the lion hunt also recurs on royal medals, such as those of Charles V (ca. 1530) and king sigismund ii Augustus of poland (1564). several examples of the plaquette survive, and the piece in the Museum of fine Arts is of a similar size and quality to the one in the national gallery of Art in washington.

AdÉl doMÁny

literAture: balogh 1975, vol. i, 274–75, cat. no. 416; Budapest 1978, 24–25, cat. no. 76; lewis 1987, 77–97; lewis 1989, 105–41.

146

46

AMiCo Aspertini (bologna, 1474/1475 – bologna, 1552) Lion Hunt

ca. 1520 pen and brown ink on paper, 163 × 245 mm purchased from the esterházy collection, 1871 inv. no. 2152 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of prints and drawings

the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were dominated by the contradictory relationship between the imitation and the transcendence of ancient art. Copying ancient works of art was an integral part of artistic practice, but in the main, such works of antiquity were treated by artists as mere motifs to be utilised in their works as they pleased. the antique style (all’ antica), popular at the time, did not refer to the art of a particular era, but was considered the appropriate style to follow. Ancient and modern art lived in close symbiosis, and in the less differentiated notion of antiquity of the era, the boundaries between them were often blurred. the “bizarre and eccentric ” art of the bolognese painter and sculptor Amico Aspertini coincided fortuitously with the passion for antiquity among the educated elite. Aspertini was fully acquainted with ancient monuments and tried to draw as much as possible during his travels. in the budapest drawing, he reworked the lion hunt of an Ancient roman relief, recorded in one of his sketchbooks, into a dynamic and dramatic scene in the mannerist style of his time. the work was intended as a drawing for an engraving, the outlines of which were copied directly from this sheet onto copperplate by the italian engraver giovanni Antonio da brescia, who reproduced the composition.

ZoltÁn kÁrpÁti

literature: faietti in Bologna 1988, cat. no. 72; Zentai in Budapest 2003, cat. no. 8.

148

47

bernArd VAn orley (brussels, ca. 1490 – brussels, 1541) Breakfast in the Forest

(“november” , from the series of tapestries the Hunts of Charles V)

ca. 1530 black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown, blue, pale green, pink and yellow wash, on paper 387 × 537 mm signed upper left: An mennekens dans purchased from the esterházy collection, 1871 inv. no. 1365 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of prints and drawings

the representative role of hunting in sixteenth-century courts is demonstrated by a grandiose series of tapestries in the Musée du louvre in paris, made for king Charles V (1500–1558), the most powerful ruler in europe, shortly after his coronation as Holy roman emperor. the magnificent weavings, modelled on the cyclical depictions of the months found in painted calendars of the period, recount in vivid detail the events of the hunting season in twelve episodes, from spring salmon fishing through autumn deer hunting to the december wild boar hunt. the series was designed by bernard van orley, one of the finest masters of the flemish renaissance, who used decorative oak trees with bare branches, placed in perspective foreshortening, to give a lifelike sense of the depth of space in his design for the month of november. smaller scenes unfold between the trees: in the background on the right, hunters gather around a flaming bonfire, while in the foreground, hard-working servants lay the table for a breakfast to be served in the forest. Van orley used pen and brown ink on the black chalk preliminary drawing to outline the contours, brown wash to give a sense of plasticity and shadows, and yellow, pink, and pale green watercolours to evoke the decorative nature of the tapestry for the client.

bernAdett tótH

literAture: Ainsworth 1982, 79–80; schneebalg-perelman 1982, 167, cat. no. 4; gerszi in Budapest 2012, 28–30, cat. no. 4; bücken in Brussels 2019, 206–8, 211, cat. no. 52.

150

48

JonAs suyderHoef (?, ca. 1613 – Haarlem, 1686) After pieter pAul rubens (siegen, 1577 – Antwerp, 1640) Lion and Leopard Hunt

1642 engraving, 463 × 580 mm inscribed lower middle: In adfectus et Venerationis Pignus Idoneum Leoninam Venationem Indoco Vander Graft Cognato Suo Mathematicae artis cultori / P. Soutman Editor. D.D.D. P. P. Rubens Pinxit – I. Suijderhoef Sculpsit – Cum. Privil. Sa. Cae. M. / P. Soutman Excud. purchased from the esterházy collection, 1871 inv. no. 38215 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of prints and drawings

in ancient times, hunting was revered and praised by classical authors such as xenophon. in 1616, in the spirit of the humanist vision of the renaissance, baldovino de Monte simoncelli, working in the service of the grand duke of tuscany, Cosimo ii de ’ Medici, wrote a treatise on hunting entitled Il Simoncello, o vero della caccia, in which he placed hunting among the liberal arts. At the same time, in Antwerp, due to the artistic genius of pieter paul rubens, hunting scenes, previously depicted on tapestries, also appeared in painting. in his large-scale, monumental canvases, he created dynamic compositions of native and exotic animals, of galloping horses and hunters, in life-size depictions, showing the dramatic clash of forces. this engraving by Jonas suyderhoef is a mirror image of a painting by rubens for the palace of Maximilian ii emanuel, elector of bavaria at schleissheim, now held in the dresden picture gallery. printed reproductions enabled later generations of artists to study rubens ’ s expressive power in detail; eugène delacroix, for example, made several drawings of the biting lion and the man lying on the ground seen here.

bernAdett tótH

literature: schneevoogt 1873, 227, cat. no. 21/2; Hollstein Dutch and Flemish xxViii (boon 1984), 215, cat. no. 28; Corpus Rubenianum vol. xViii, part 2 (balis 1986), vol. ii, 46–49, 149–53, cat. no. 8, fig. 64.

152

49

reMbrAndt HArMensZ. VAn riJn (leiden, 1606 – Amsterdam, 1669) The Large Lion Hunt

1641 etching and drypoint on paper, 223 × 297 mm signed upper right: Rembrandt f 1641 purchased from the esterházy collection, 1871 inv. no. 31441 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of prints and drawings

rembrandt, the greatest artist of dutch baroque painting and printmaking, became familiar with the works of his flemish contemporary rubens in his youth, moreover, in certain subjects, he even tried to create what he considered to be the valid artistic interpretation in the spirit of aemulatio, the renaissance artistic ideal of competition. these included the Lion Hunt, which he created in several versions. in this exceptionally large etching, rembrandt generously refrained from using precise, closed contours. the atmospheric intensity of the scene is primarily conveyed by the gestural, energetic lines, whose immediacy and spontaneity are indicative not only of rembrandt’ s exquisite draughtsmanship but also of his masterly etching technique. in the background of the composition, which evokes the leonardesque sense of non finito (unfinishedness), the figure of the hunter raising his sword is a mirror image of leonardo ’ s warrior from The Battle of Anghiari, known to posterity only from rubens ’ s drawn copy. the borrowing of motifs in artistic depictions of hunting and battle scenes reflects the contemporary idea that hunting, as a sport that bred courage and honed strategic skills, was an excellent way to prepare in peacetime for future combat.

bernAdett tótH

literature: Hollstein Dutch and Flemish xViii, 60, cat. no. 114/ii; gerszi in Budapest 2006a, cat. no. 42; The New Hollstein Dutch and Flemish 2013, vol. ii, 63, cat. no. 187.

154

50–51

dAMiAno CAppelli (active 1662–1688 in florence) Horseman Pursuing a Boar and Horseman Killing a Bull

ca. 1650 bronze with golden brown patina, 28 × 39 × 21 cm and 28.5 × 31 × 22 cm purchased, 1959 inv. nos 59.3 és 59.4 Museum of fine Arts, sculpture Collection

damiano Cappelli was one of the sculptors active in florentine bronze casting, which flourished as a result of giambologna ’ s work. little is known of his life: filippo baldinucci, the biographer of italian baroque artists, remembers him as a skilled bronzecaster. before opening his own workshop in 1662, he had worked for ferdinando tacca. only five signed works by Cappelli survive, all of them small bronzes of extremely high quality, four of which, depicting hunting scenes, are now in a private collection in new york. the compositions, which depict lion, deer and boar hunting, as well as bullfighting, may once have formed part of a larger series. Versions of the latter two depictions can be found in the collection of the Museum of fine Arts. Certain details of Cappelli’ s hunting-themed bronzes, such as the rearing and galloping horses, the wild boar and the stag, appear in similar forms in the works of his masters giambologna and tacca. the compositions may have been inspired by the hunts popular with members of the Medici family, but they could equally have been derived from the animal fights that abounded in florence and featured prominently in all the city ’ s major festivities. to add a tough of the exotic, the riders, armed with spears or swords, are often dressed in oriental costumes, as seen on the small bronzes in budapest. the dynamic scenes of the Bullfight and the Wild Boar Hunt were once believed to have been invented by Cappelli’ s master, ferdinando tacca, but researchers today attribute the creation of these elaborate compositions to Cappelli himself.

MiriAM sZőCs

literAture: balogh 1975, vol. i, 180–81, cat. nos. 242, 243; radcliffe and penny 2005, 260–65; szőcs 2005, 119–31, 211–18; warren 2010, 102–10.

156

52

CArl borroMäus AndreAs rutHArt (danzig [gdańsk], ca. 1630 – Aquila, 1703) Wolves Attacking a Wild Boar

1663 oil on canvas, 98.5 × 78 cm signed lower middle: C. RUTHART 1663 purchased from the esterházy collection, 1871 inv. no. 568 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

in the seventeenth century, the only notable german specialist in hunting scenes was Carl borromäus Andreas ruthart. He spent nearly a decade travelling in italy, where he was greatly inspired by the animal paintings of giovanni benedetto Castiglione of genoa, while in flanders, he was impressed by the works of frans snijders and Jan fijt, who also feature in this volume. in the mid-1660s he travelled to Vienna, where he was employed by karl eusebius, prince of liechtenstein. with direct access to his patron’ s private menagerie, ruthart committed himself to painting animals. in this painting, he leads the viewer into a little clearing in a wooded, rocky mountain landscape to witness the struggle between a pack of wolves and a wild boar. His focus, however, is not on the attack of the bloodthirsty wolves, the helplessness of the downed animal or the brutality of the event, but rather on the impressive spectacle of the animals ’ movements and the sensual rendering of their fur. the deer skull, a memento of an earlier struggle, is a reminder of transience and mortality. despite the influence of his distinctively charactered italian and flemish role models, ruthart developed a recognisable style of his own. in his work he typically combined a decorative group of animals with a landscape painted in lustrous, almost monochrome colours, and he modelled each motif with touches of light that give the impression of artificial lighting.

AnnAMÁriA gosZtolA

literAture: garas in Summary Catalogue 2003, 112; gosztola in Compiègne 2007–2008, cat. no. 67.

158

53

JoHAnn eliAs ridinger (ulm, 1698 – Augsburg, 1767) Stag Hunt

1726 pencil, black chalk and white heightening on blue paper, 321 × 288 mm signed lower middle: J. El Ridinger inv et del: 1726. purchased from the esterházy collection, 1871 inv. no. 821 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of prints and drawings

Johann elias ridinger was one of the most outstanding painters and draughtsmen of eighteenth-century Augsburg, owing his reputation primarily to his hunting scenes and animal depictions. in his printmaking company, which he operated with his sons, he made about 1,600 engravings based on his own drawings and other images. particularly popular among the publisher’ s prints was a series of a hundred plates, published in parts and completed only in the year of ridinger’ s death, known by the title Genaue und richtige Vorstellung der wundersamsten Hirschen… . the large compositions capture episodes of the aristocratic hunts held in various south german parks and the animals that lived there. Stag Hunting, held in budapest, is a sketch for the 45th plate of the series. the dramatic struggle of the two attacked deer as they hopelessly try to shake off the hunting dogs jumping at them and biting them was depicted by the artist in subtle shades of grey, with a picturesque contrast of light and shade achieved through a combination of black chalk, blue paper and white heightening. the immediacy of the scene is further enhanced by a dog lying on its back and kicking. the drawing is dated 1726, while the engraving, in a mirrored composition, was made in 1731, and, according to its inscription, evokes a hunting scene observed in nymphenburg park.

sZilViA bodnÁr

literAture: Hoffmann 1929, 137–38, fig. 42; garas 1980, cat. no. 31; ecsedy in Compiègne 2007, cat. no. 72.

160

54

AlexAndre-frAnçois desportes (Champigneulle, 1661 – paris, 1743) Boar Hunt

1730s oil on canvas, 81 × 101 cm purchased from a private collector, budapest, 2010 inv. no. 2011.1 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

Alexandre-françois desportes was a leading figure of eighteenth-century french still life and animal painting. from 1700 until his death, he decorated several royal castles with his depictions of animal fights and hunts, and portraits of the king’ s favourite dogs. saint-simon noted that during the hunts, he “usually walked by the king, with a small sketchbook in his hand, to record the various behaviours of the dogs on the spot. ” He not only used animals as his models, but also nature itself, which he recreated in faithful realism using sketches he made outdoors. As such, he can be considered as one of the earliest exponents of naturalistic landscape painting. what desportes ’ s contemporaries admired most about his animal paintings was not their high degree of fidelity to nature, but rather the unique, almost human-like character of his figures. this image is typical of his style: the bloodthirsty stare of the dogs baring their fangs and the highly detailed flesh-hungry claws and teeth vividly reveal the brutality of hunting. the wild boar refuses to give up as it fights for its life, and has already brought down one dog, which lies in a pool of blood. its companions are desperately throwing themselves at their prey, but seeing the determination of the beast and the pain and torment of the wounded hound, we cannot be sure that the attackers, despite their greater numbers, will eventually overcome their chosen victim.

orsolyA rAdVÁnyi

literAture: radványi in Museum Guide 2021, 251.

162

55

Vittorio AMedeo CignAroli (turin, 1730 – turin, 1800) Deer Hunt

early 1770s oil on canvas, 97 × 129 cm bequest of ferenc kossuth, 1914 inv. no. 4644 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

with his landscapes and his hunting scenes, the turin-born Vittorio Amedeo Cignaroli became immensely popular in the savoyard court and among the piedmontese aristocracy. for decades he played a significant role in decorating the savoyard residences (Venaria, Moncalieri), and at the peak of his success, in 1782 he was appointed court painter of “landscapes and forest scenes ” to king Victor Amadeus iii of sardinia. in the spectacular and highly narrative pictures he painted in the royal hunting lodge in stupinigi, he depicted the different stages of the royal deer hunts. the budapest painting dates from the 1770s, and shows the event not with specific participants, but as a genre theme. the setting for this elegant hunting scene is an idealised landscape recalling the hills and plains around turin. Cignaroli’ s attention is focused not on the intense efforts of the galloping mounted hunters, nor on the dramatic struggles of the deer as it flees the pack of baying hounds, but on the idyllic scenery that remains tranquil and undisturbed even amid the ferocity of the life-or-death battle. with extraordinary sensitivity the artist painted the tiny, pleasing details of the restful surroundings: the colourful interplay of green and golden brown leaves, the shadows concealed in the rocks beside the stream, and the silkily shimmering surface of the water. the rococo charm of the depiction and the light-imbued atmosphere indicate that Cignaroli also derived inspiration from the art of giuseppe Zais and francesco Zuccarelli, the foremost exponents of Venetian settecento landscape painting.

ZsuZsAnnA dobos

literAture: garas 1972, pp. 99–100, note 40; Cifani and Monetti 1999, 127–30; tátrai in Montreal 2002, 78–79, cat. no. 42.

164

56

August Querfurt (wolfenbüttel, 1696 – Vienna, 1761) Falconry Hunt

ca. 1750 oil on canvas, each 34.5 × 26 cm bequest of Count Jenő Zichy to the Municipality of budapest, 1906 transferred from the Municipal picture gallery, 1953 inv. nos 53.438 a, b, c Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

August Querfurt was known to the citizens of Augsburg, bratislava and Vienna mainly as a specialist in battle paintings and cavalry scenes. though he was not blessed with many original ideas, his works, painted in the manner of his master georg philipp rugendas and his idols Johann elias ridinger and philips wouwerman, brought him immense popularity. He also enjoyed capturing hunting scenes. the series of four paintings, which included these three cabinet paintings, was probably made to decorate a noble mansion or hunting lodge. Querfurt was fond of this subject and reproduced it several times. in this work, he did not depict a specific event with real people, but rather tried to recreate the atmosphere of a falconry hunt. in the middle picture, the participants are peacefully chatting, relaxing, and looking around. in the scene on the left, the falconer begins to fly his bird, while several people, including a distinguished, fashionably dressed couple, watch with bated breath, struggling struggle to restrain their excited, restless dogs as they pull at their leashes. in the picture on the right, everything is in motion, conjuring up the thrill of the hunt. these images offer good examples of Querfurt’ s compositional skills, his light brushwork, and relaxed picturesqueness. the paintings, though part of a series, also stand well on their own as individual works.

AnnAMÁriA gosZtolA

literAture: garas in Summary Catalogue 2003, 106–7; gosztola in Szombathely 2005, cat. no. Vii.14; gosztola in Székesfehérvár 2014, 118–19, cat. no. 41.

166

57–60

kÁroly klette (dresden, 1793 – budapest, 1874) After drawings by kÁroly forgÁCH (active early 19th century) Hunting Scenes

1816 lithograph on paper; print dimensions: 1: 393 × 550 mm; 2: 393 × 550 mm; 3: 390 × 550 mm; 4: 388 × 540 mm 1. signed lower left: Carl Forgach pinx.; lower right: C. Klette lith.; 2. Signed Carl Forgach; lower right: Klette litograph; 3. signed lower left: Carl Forgach pinx; lower right: Carl Klette litograph; 4. signed lower left: Carl Klette; lower middle: Carl Forgach pinx purchased, 1981 inv. no. g81.76.1–4 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of prints and drawings

born in dresden, károly klette came to pest in 1836 as court painter to Archduke Joseph of Austria. in addition to his official commissions, he also painted numerous portraits, vedute (cityscapes) and landscapes. early in his career he produced lithographs after four drawings of hunting scenes by the now unknown károly forgách. in all four works he captures moments of deer and stag hunting. two of the drawings are typical of this kind of depiction: the hunter, raising his rifle, fires at the game as it flees. the third depicts the moment when the creature, fighting for its life, is confronted by the hound. the focus is on the animals, not the hunters in the background. the main focus of the fourth lithograph is likewise the group of animals, in this case deer jumping into the river to escape. károly forgách was probably a devotee of this sport, and like his contemporaries, he recorded his own experiences and memories on paper. He then turned to klette, still a young man at the time, and commissioned him to make lithographs from his drawings. klette also passed down many of his own animal and hunting scenes to posterity.

ildikó bACsA

literAture: Éber and gombosi 1935, 569; Győr 2000, n. p.

168

61

sÁndor brodsZky (tóalmás, 1819 – budapest, 1901) Deer Hunt

ca. 1845 pencil on paper, 214 × 213 mm gift of rudolf bedő, 1924 inv. no. 1924-1075 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of prints and drawings

sándor brodszky, one of the most important exponents of Hungarian romantic landscape painting, moved from Vienna to Munich in 1845, where he lived for nearly a decade. His works from this period, like the drawing shown here, reflect the influence of his teacher at the Academy of fine Arts in Munich, Carl rottmann, and meet all the criteria of romantic landscape painting. brodszky travelled almost all his life, and was particularly fond of the tyrolean, swiss, and bavarian mountains, as well as the buda hills and the area around lake balaton. As he wandered, he explored new landscapes, drawing studies in situ on which he later based his works, including this Deer Hunt. the rocky landscape shows a leaping deer fleeing from the hunters in pursuit. Composed in accordance with strict rules, the drawing aims to capture the natural scene accurately. brodszky ’ s emphasis is less on the hunt than on the depiction of the wilderness.

Ágnes ferenCZi

literAture: szendrei and szentiványi 1915, vol. i, 268–73; bodnár 1975, 65; szvoboda dománszky 2009, 54.

170

62

tHoMAs Couture (senlis, 1815 – Villiers-le-bel, 1879) The Bird-Catcher

1857 oil on canvas, 42 × 61 cm signed lower left: T. C. 1857 bequest of Count János pálffy, 1907 inv. no. 253.b Museum of fine Arts, Collection of Art after 1800

thomas Couture, one of the most popular french painters of the mid-nineteenth century, learned his craft from such great masters of history painting as Antoine-Jean gros and paul delaroche. in terms of subject matter and technique, Couture was remarkably versatile, for besides historical subjects, his repertoire also included landscapes, portraits and allegorical compositions. in 1847 he opened a prestigious private school where, as painter and teacher, he nurtured many talents including Anselm feuerbach and Édouard Manet. in the late 1840s, his hometown offered Couture the old bishop’ s chapel as a studio; The Bird-Catcher depicts the courtyard of this building. in the foreground we see a young hunter, alert and tense, down on one knee, waiting for the right moment to pull the string of the trap. Around the birdman, we can see cages placed in the courtyard and hanging from the side of the building and from the trees, a reference to the young man’ s trade. bird-catching and birdmanship belong to the ancient crafts, and they offer an exciting embodiment of human resourcefulness. in his warm-toned genre painting, Couture depicts the kind of bird-catching that deployed conventional tools.

rebekA MrÁZik

literAture: boime 1969, 48–56; illyés 2001, 30–31.

172

63

MiHÁly ZiCHy (Zala, 1827 – saint petersburg, 1906) Bear Hunt

1869 watercolour and white heightening on paper, 180 × 285 mm signed lower left: Zichy 1869 exchanged with sotheby ’ s Auction House (london), 1988 inv. no. f88.120 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of prints and drawings

with only brief interruptions, Mihály Zichy lived in russia from 1853 until the end of his life, during which time he worked for four tsars, initially fulfilling commissions, and later being appointed court painter. during almost five decades, he painted portraits and recorded diplomatic events and ceremonies, but his main task was to depict court hunts. the sketches he made in situ were later elaborated and arranged into albums, resulting in dozens of realistic animal paintings, drawings and watercolours that bear witness to the majestic hunts led by the tsar. tsar Alexander ii was a passionate bear hunter, and it was based on such occasions that Zichy produced a series of fifty-two cards featuring humorous sketches, as well as the watercolour shown here. in his Bear Hunt, Zichy combined the spontaneity of the genre with the exactness of a well-constructed composition: he painted the collapsing animal, the drivers approaching from the left, the restrained dog, the momentary nature of the background events, and the perfect rhythm of the trees in the winter pine forest. Zichy ’ s works on the theme of hunting are characterised not only by their narrative nature and their keenly observed, dynamic movements, but also by their anatomically impeccable depictions of game. Although he himself disparaged his animal paintings, he became a member of the saint petersburg Academy as an animal painter, and even the french critic théophile gautier was a fan of Zichy ’ s foxes, wolves and wildcats.

Adrienn prÁgAi

literAture: berkovits 1964, 47, 53, 62. and 76; princeva 2007, 101.

174

64

JóZsef MolnÁr (Zsámbok, 1821 – budapest, 1899) Waterfall (Hunter in the Tatra Mountains)

after 1870 oil on canvas, 150 × 84.5 cm signed lower right: Molnár J. bequest, 1992 inv. no. 92.11t Hungarian national gallery, Collection of 19th- and 20th-Century painting

beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, there was a tendency among several Hungarian landscape painters, such as károly Markó the elder and gusztáv keleti, to treat the human figures in their works merely as incidental characters next to the true protagonist of nature, in all her ideal beauty. similarly, József Molnár, who worked in several genres, often added small staffage figures to emphasise the majesty of the landscape, the awe-inspiring ridges and cascading waterfalls of the tatra Mountains. in Waterfall (Hunter in the Tatra Mountains), the hunter, drinking fresh spring water from his hat, is seen resting with his dog in the midst of a successful hunt. there are several known paintings by Molnár depicting the entrance to the kis-tarpatak Valley (in slovakian: Malá studená dolina) and the bluish summit of the lomnický peak behind it, but only a few are populated with a genre-like scene. Molnár kept returning to the figure of the hunter during his almost six-decade career: he painted hunters watching for game from a hunting blind, and there is also an amusing indian ink drawing of a hunter falling into a deep sleep while waiting for his prey.

Adrienn prÁgAi

literAture: turcsányi 1938, 92.

176

65

MIHÁLY ZICHY (Zala, 1827 – Saint Petersburg, 1906)

Taking Home the Stag (Scene from the series Scottish Hunts)

1875 Sepia, watercolour, and Indian ink on paper, 735 × 535 mm Signed lower right: Zichy 1875 Purchased, 1959 Inv. no. F59.127 Hungarian National Gallery, Collection of Prints and Drawings

Mihály Zichy, who had been working as a painter for the Russian court, was granted a few weeks’ leave by Tsar Alexander II in 1871, when he accepted an invitation from the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. During the several days he spent in Scotland, they hunted deer and small game, including grouse. Zichy depicted everything, from the search and stalking of the game, the moment of shooting and finding the game, to the bagpipe playing and the torch and sword dancing that followed the successful hunt. In one of the pieces in the series, a bagged deer is carefully hauled by its antlers down a high cliff. Zichy’s watercolours, reminiscent of illustrations, blend realism and romantic composition, freedom of creation and experientialism.

On his return to Saint Petersburg, Zichy sent a report to the Hungarian readers of the Vadász- és Versenylap, the first Hungarian sports journal, describing in detail not only the hunting trips but also the Scottish landscape and the costumes, which he had found particularly pleasing. As he wrote, he was at first prejudiced against the English, but later all his reservations disappeared. He was pleased to note that the royal family was a great patron of the arts: some of Zichy’s drawings still form part of the royal collection.

ADRIENN PRÁGAI

LITERATURE:Zichy 1871; Berkovits 1964, 47, 53, 62. és 76; Gellér 2000, 75–85.

178

66

pÁl sZinyei Merse (szinyeújfalu [Chminianska nová Ves, slovakia], 1845 –Jernye [Jarovnice, slovakia], 1920) Oculi

1884–1894 oil on canvas, 60.5 × 47.8 cm signed lower left: Szinyei Merse Pál 1894 purchased, 1918 inv. no. 5207 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of 19th- and 20th-Century painting

the first bird of the hunting season is the snipe, which appears on the third sunday of lent: this is also referred to in the latin word oculi, which opens psalm 25, verse 15. out of this psalm, a verse evolved that became widespread in german hunting calendars, listing the main stages of snipe hunting, from the first sunday of lent to the first sunday after easter, that is, from the time when the birds prepare to breed until the beginning of the brood. in 1884, szinyei Merse ’ s painting was still only a sketch of reddish bushes, barren trees and patches of snow left over from winter. ten years later, he added a hunter and a dog to the painting, thus making the early evening snipe hunt, favoured so much by the painter, the subject of the picture. the artist’ s younger brother József posed for him; a photograph of him survives, taken by szinyei Merse ’ s son félix, himself a keen hunter (fig. 9). A major turning point in szinyei Merse ’ s life came when he exhibited Oculi at the winter exhibition of the Hungarian fine Arts society in 1894–1895 – the work was immediately purchased by emperor franz Joseph. Afterwards, the painter, who had spent the previous decade in solitary retreat at his home in Jernye, took up his brushes once more, filled with renewed hope.

Adrienn prÁgAi

literAture: szinyei Merse 1948, 124; szinyei 1989, 108, 114.

180

67

JAn fiJt (Antwerp, 1611 – Antwerp, 1661) Still Life with Dog and Birds

1658 (?) oil on canvas, 41 × 51.7 cm signed lower right, on the stone: Joannes Fyt/165. (8?) purchased from the esterházy collection, 1871 inv. no. 737 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

frans snijders and his pupil Jan fijt were the most significant leading figures in flemish baroque animal painting. fijt made the most of his painting talent in the field of hunting scenes, although he also painted fruit and flower compositions. He worked in paris and in several major cities in italy, then returned to Antwerp in 1641, where he became one of the city ’ s most popular painters. rubens was no longer alive at this time, but his example was decisive in the refinement of fijt’ s workmanship and the perfect structure of his compositions. from his rich oeuvre of nearly three hundred works, this so-called cabinet still life exemplifies his art perfectly: the viewer is captivated simultaneously by its decorativeness and its naturalism. in the foreground, at the foot of a tree, two fallen jays lie on the ground. the hound behind them is climbing up on a dark, square stone, looking around and assessing whether the prey entrusted to it is in danger. in addition to fijt’ s ability to evoke atmosphere, his dazzling technical knowledge also prevails: we can see the animals from almost palpable proximity, we can almost feel the touch of the dog’ s fur and the birds ’ feathers. we can admire the special light effects and the plumage of the birds, painted in shades of pink, steel blue and grey.

AnnAMÁriA gosZtolA

literAture: gosztola in Summary Catalogue 2000, 71; willigen and Meijer 2003, 83; ember 2011, 85–86, cat. no. 24.

182

68

fleMisH pAinter (active around 1700) Two Hunting Falcons

oil on canvas, 77 × 95 cm transferred from the deposited holdings, 1958 inv. no. 58.36 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

the painting shows a peregrine falcon facing the viewer and a gyrfalcon from behind, each with a plumed helmet on its head and a bell attached to its feet. both species were favourites among falconers. the peregrine falcon was preferred by ladies because of its small stature and elegant flight, while the larger and faster gyrfalcon was used by men for hunting. falconry, a royal and aristocratic privilege, began to lose its significance by the eighteenth century. nevertheless, in the 1730s, Clemens August of bavaria built a hunting lodge at his summer residence in brühl, the very name of which – falkenlust – refers to falconry. one of the rooms in the castle was decorated with wooden-panelled paintings of the archbishop’ s favourite falcons. this painting could also have been made for such a decorative purpose, which would explain the expeditious treatment of the background and a certain roughness of composition. in similar depictions, falcons usually perch on the branch of a tree or on a hand protected with a leather glove. Here, the gyrfalcon clings to a rotten log in the foreground, while its companion appears on the bare hill in the centre, contravening the laws of perspective.

Miklós gÁlos

literAture: ember in Wausau 1989, cat. no. b15; gosztola in Summary Catalogue 2000, 65; ember 2011, cat. no. 35.

184

69

kÁroly gerl (neulerchenfeld [Vienna], 1857 – körmöcbánya [kremnica, slovakia], 1907) Commemorative medal of the Budapest Antler Exhibition of the National Hunting Society

1883 embossed bronze, diameter: 68 mm inscribed on the verso, below: K.B. on the recto, within a wreath: NEMZETI VADÁSZATI VÉDEGYLET [nAtionAl Hunting soCiety]; in the middle: AGANCS / KIÁLLITÁS / BUDAPEST [Antler / exHibition / budApest] purchased from the pompéry collection, 1940 inv. no. 56.339-p Hungarian national gallery, Collection of sculptures, Coins and Medals with the spread of aristocratic hunting, the cult of the hunting trophy also grew in popularity: castles and mansions were decorated with antlers, tusks, horns, and taxidermied specimens. europe ’ s first public exhibition of trophies was held in 1871 in pest, in the national riding Hall; later, the national Hungarian Hunters ’ Association, founded in 1881, organised annual musters in the Hungarian Museum of Agriculture, the national Casino or the Vigadó Concert Hall. Although the internationally standardised trophy grading system was only established in the first decades of the twentieth century, even at the first Hungarian exhibitions trophies were graded according to their weight, the number of branches, and their strength. After graduating from the Academy of fine Arts, károly (karl) gerl, who was born in Vienna, became an engraver at the mint in kremnica. it was here that the commemorative medal commissioned by the national Hungarian Hunters ’ Association for the antler exhibition in 1883 was made, as indicated by the inscription “k.b. ” (for körmöcbánya, the Hungarian name for kremnica) on the withers of the deer. this medal, 68 mm in diameter, depicting a deer’ s head, and later repeatedly reminted, also had a smaller companion medal depicting a roebuck. in the course of his almost three-decade career, gerl produced numerous commemorative medals, the best known of which are those featuring the portraits of cultural figures such as Mihály Munkácsy, károly lotz, ferenc (franz) liszt, and Mór Jókai.

Adrienn prÁgAi

literAture: siklóssy 1910, 50–54; szigeti 1951–1952, 64–67; Huszár 1957–1958, 58–62; Várhidy 1974, 29–32.

186

70

györgy VAstAgH Junior (kolozsvár [Cluj-napoca, romania], 1868 – budapest, 1946) Horse (Kozma)

ca. 1903 bronze, 56 × 16 × 46 cm transferred from the györgy ráth Museum, 1951 inv. no. 52.136 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of sculptures, Coins and Medals

in 1903, györgy Vastagh the younger was commissioned by Ágoston Zimmermann to create anatomical sculptures for the Hungarian royal Veterinary College, showing the musculature of horses as they paced or pranced. His sculpture of the english thoroughbred stallion kozma is not just an anatomical depiction of a horse, but an animal portrait based on a specific creature. the modelling of the racehorse, with its head turned slightly to the left, its ears pointed and its long mane, reveals deep knowledge of equine anatomy, but there is also a true sense that this is a representation of a particular horse. kozma ’ s character traits – a noble neck, slender legs, and a slightly stronger rump and waist – are also handled with individuality. Vastagh created hundreds of animal portraits, which, besides their artistic value, are also significant from an agro-museological point of view, as they are primary documents of breed history. they allow us to trace the development and evolution of individual breeds, the effects on breeding exerted by the most important breeds, and the main changes in breeding objectives and trends. Vastagh modelled kozma at the same time as he produced the sculptural anatomical studies.in1903,thejournal Művészet [Art]reportedthattheszegedfineArtsAssociation had purchased the sculpture at one of its exhibitions, to be given to one of its members, chosen by drawing lots. the lucky recipient of the statue was János ruzicska.

Judit sZeifert

literAture: budapest 1968; karasszon 1978, 365; szőllősy 2009, 5–12; 35; 79.

188

71

györgy VAstAgH Junior (kolozsvár [Cluj-napoca, romania], 1868 – budapest, 1946) Greyhound

ca. 1910 bronze, 37 × 40 × 13 cm signed on the bronze base, by the right rear foot, in cursive script: Ifj. Vastagh György purchased from the national Hungarian society of fine Arts, 1921 inv. no. 5617 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of sculptures, Coins and Medals

györgy Vastagh the younger was commissioned in 1898 to create sculptures of fifty breeding animals (cows, bulls, sheep, poultry) in a professional manner, in quarter, third or full size. At the 1900 exposition universelle in paris he won two gold medals: one in fine art and one in agriculture. the complete series was commissioned and purchased by the british Museum in london, and some of the sculptures were acquired by the deutsches Museum in Munich. His sculptures also won gold medals at the Milan international in 1906. His series of twenty-four dog breeds, commissioned for the 1910 Vienna Hunting exhibition, was another success, earning him the state silver Medal. the Greyhound is from this latter series. Vastagh always aimed to capture the unique characteristics of the animal chosen as his model. the most evocative examples of character portrayal are found in his horse sculptures, but his canine sculptures are also noteworthy in this respect. the Greyhound boasts the characteristics of an excellent hunting dog. with its head held high and its disciplined, upright posture, ready to leap at a moment’ s notice, the hound embodies tense and focused attention. its proud stance and its look of great intelligence and self-confidence convince the viewer that this dog will not tolerate any rough treatment, not even from its master, but is willing to leap into icy water to retrieve the shot game.

Judit sZeifert

literAture: Ujság 1910, 14; Vadász-Lap 1910, 187.

190

72

JoHn frederiCk Herring (surrey, 1795 – Meopham, 1865) Fox Hunt

1831 oil on canvas, 86 × 103 cm signed lower left: J. F. Herring 831 Acquired in 1969 inv. no. 570.b Museum of fine Arts, Collection of Art after 1800

John frederick Herring’ s work depicts fox hunting, very popular in england in the first half of the nineteenth century. from the eighteenth century onwards, foxes were not only hunted for their valuable fur or to prevent overpopulation, but also for pleasure. in practice, this happened as follows: a group of upper-class men in full hunting gear, on horseback and with the aid of a pack of hounds, would chase the fox until it became exhausted and succumbed to being hunted down. by the nineteenth century, the sport had acquired an increasing number of middleclass fans, in addition to the nobility, and it became the national sport of the english, despite its considerable expense. At the same time, the popularity of paintings depicting the event also proliferated. this was a world close to Herring’ s heart: he had first worked as a professional coachman (a respectable job at the time), then as a painter of trade signs for inns and equestrian portraits. from the 1830s he became a full-time artist, often commissioned by the english gentry to paint hunting scenes and portraits of racehorses. even Queen Victoria took notice of him and became his patron. His paintings were widely reproduced, and it is likely that they also had an influence on the work of Édouard Manet and edgar degas.

biAnkA bodA

literAture: gaunt 1964, 89–98; London–Leicester–Liverpool 1974, 18–19, 104.

192

73

friedriCH JoHAnn gottlieb lieder (potsdam, 1780 – pest, 1859) Hunting

before 1859 oil on canvas, 46 × 88 cm purchased, 1940 inv. no. fk5300 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of 19th- and 20th-Century painting

the potsdam-born painter, known in Hungary as frigyes lieder, studied at the paris Academy of Art under Jacques-louis david and became a renowned portraitist of aristocrats in pest, trnava, and bratislava. He later worked in Vienna and also served as court painter to king frederick william iii of prussia. in the last decades of his life he worked in Hungary. lieder chose a unique composition for this painting: the attention of the rider and the hounds is focused on a single point, as the hunter fires his long, muzzle-loading rifle. we cannot, however, see the quarry, and can only guess from the hunter’ s green jacket that he is aiming at a deer or a hare. the painting is surely not an accurate depiction of a hunt, but rather a portrait of an aristocrat with his beloved horse and hounds. this is especially true because the shot fired directly next to the horse ’ s head (and the resulting detonation) could never be carried out in practice. this type of imagery, featuring the hunter without the game, came into being as hunting tools and methods developed. increasingly sophisticated weaponry allowed hunters to shoot further away from their targets, so compositions showing only the hunter – or only the fleeing prey – began to appear in the visual arts.

Adrienn prÁgAi

literAture: fónagy in Éber and gombosi 1935, 33.

194

74

dirk MAAs (Haarlem, 1656 – Haarlem, 1717) Hunters Riding Out

between 1675 and 1717 oil on oak panel, 37.2 × 46 cm gift from Count sándor Apponyi, 1919 inv. no. 5300 Museum of fine Arts, Collection of old Master paintings

falconry, the privilege of rulers and aristocrats, had a long-standing tradition in the low Countries: the falconers of Arendonk and Valkenswaard in brabant were employed by many european courts from the sixteenth century onwards. in this painting by the dutch artist dirk Maas, the noble couple are preparing for a falconry hunt, accompanied by drivers, trappers and hunting servants. Having probably arrived by carriage at the ornate gate of the castle, the lady is already in the saddle, watching the bird perched on the arm of a falconer, while her husband glances at one of the greyhounds as a servant holds the halter of his mount. in those days, small game was usually hunted on horseback with falcons, while the hounds drove the quarry out. Maas worked for years in the service of king william iii of england. Although he had earned his reputation mostly for his battle paintings, he also captured the lives of aristocrats in many works. in this painting, he adheres to the elegant style of representation expected of him, but adds a sense of vividness and directness by utilising genre-like motifs, such as the boy holding the greyhound or the natural movement of the lady. the almost idyllic beauty of the landscape echoes the influence of the italianate landscapes of his former master, nicolas berchem (1620–1683). throughout his career, Maas depicted horses frequently and enthusiastically, which is perhaps why the nobleman’ s white steed features so prominently in this composition.

CsAbA Hertelendy

literAture: pigler 1967, 406; Summary Catalogue 2000, 98.

196

75

kÁroly sterio (Újmoldova [Moldova nouă, romania], 1821 – pest, 1862) Leaving for the Hunt

1856 oil on cardboard, 50 × 63 cm signed lower right: Sterio 856. exchanged, 1946 inv. no. fk8019 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of 19th- and 20th-Century painting

of greek emigrant descent, károly sterio was a portraitist and genre painter, also known for his many sporting and hunting paintings. An example of the latter is one of his best-known works, Leaving for the Hunt, which he exhibited along with two other paintings at the exhibition of the pest Art society in 1856. the painting belongs to the type of picture depicting the preparations for a hunt. the central figure is a hunter on a white horse, observing the events around him with interest. All the figures in the painting (hunters and horses, the boys calming the excited greyhounds) are portrayed in motion, lending the scene more dynamism than theatricality. Although one contemporary press report described the painting as conveying a “pleasant impression” , it also noted two drawing errors, pointing out the ungracefulness of the pony ’ s neck and the awkward left hand of the boy holding the dogs. in 1979 the Hungarian post office issued a set of seven stamps featuring paintings of animals; sterio ’ s picture featured on the five-forint stamp.

ildikó bACsA

literAture: Budapesti Hírlap 1856, n. p.; k. gyurkovich 1974, 323–25; Új Tükör 1979, 44; szvoboda dománszky 2007, 393.

198

76

JÁnos VAsZAry (kaposvár, 1867 – budapest, 1939) Greyhound Coursing (Before the Greyhound Hunt)

early 1890s oil on panel, 45 × 54.5 cm signed lower right: Vaszary J. purchased, 1947 inv. no. fk8512 Hungarian national gallery, Collection of 19th- and 20th-Century painting

At the beginning of 1891, János Vaszary left paris for an extended period, where he had been studying at the Académie Julian, and spent the next year and a half in esztergom and its surroundings, and in italy. during this period, he produced his first naturalistic works, including his painting Greyhound Coursing. during his studies in Munich and paris, the painter had the opportunity to become acquainted with the naturalistic works of Jules bastien-lepage. Here, following the french master, he experiments with a more detailed representation of the landscape. Vaszary depicts not the hunt itself, but the preparations preceding it. A stable-boy standing in the courtyard holds a saddled horse by the reins, surrounded by three greyhounds waiting to set off. greyhound coursing is one of the most ancient hunting methods, in which the mounted hunter brings down his prey with the help of his dogs. in Hungary, game hunting flourished after the defeat of the 1848–1849 war of independence, and reached its peak during the period of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. the stricter licensing of weapons meant that few people had the opportunity to hunt with weapons, and unlicensed hunting became increasingly widespread.

Ágnes ferenCZi

literAture: krasznai 1986, 14–20; Vuray, rácz fodor, and szabó 2000, 313; boros in Budapest 2007a, 27.

200