Begin van de jacht 1761

Curator: Ah, "Begin van de jacht", or "The Start of the Hunt," an engraving by Robbert Muys, dating to 1761. The Rijksmuseum holds this small window into a Baroque hunting scene. Editor: My first thought is the formality. The figures almost pose rather than genuinely anticipating a hunt. It’s meticulously arranged, yet a bit…stilted. Curator: The Baroque certainly favors theatricality and posed grandeur. Here, we see a blend of genre painting, history, and landscape elements. Hunting scenes, you know, were often symbolic, mirroring the pursuit of love, power, or spiritual goals. Notice how the figures are placed in a way that it looks as if they are taking position, ready to perform to an imaginary stage. Editor: And the staged feel reinforces, perhaps unintentionally, the class dynamics at play. Hunting, historically, was a pastime of the privileged. Their attire, the horses—symbols of status. Even the casual intimacy suggests a world apart. Do you think that animals would want this sport? Curator: You're right, it encapsulates social hierarchy. Though it appears that this group shares similar attires, what matters here are their body expressions: look at how gently they interact and welcome one another, despite their purposes. It's a language only the ruling class would have understood at that time. The dogs themselves were meticulously bred and trained for the sport, representing a specific set of values—loyalty, obedience, even violence when properly directed. But looking deeper, can we see hints about the cycle of seasons, about mortality? A hunt is fundamentally a ritual of life and death. Editor: I wonder if the composition is consciously echoing classical imagery? Like a pastoral scene imbued with violence, forcing a certain tension? I can't help seeing a romanticised narrative concealing potential suffering under layers of elegance. Curator: You've brought in a relevant point, particularly relevant because of the symbolic meaning hunting was used as an allegory for other type of conflicts such as that in love. This engraving isn't merely documentation; it is about constructing an idea. What could this mean now to contemporary sensibilities. Editor: Ultimately, that contrast between refinement and the inherent violence keeps resonating, highlighting the social constructs within these displays. That's it for me on that aspect. Curator: And for me, this reconfirms the rich layers an image may conceal, depending on the viewer’s sight. A little peek on humanity along its path.