Viscount Weymouth’s Hunt: Thomas, 2nd Viscount Weymouth, with a Black Page and other Huntsmen at the Kill 1733 - 1736

Curator: John Wootton's epic tableau, "Viscount Weymouth’s Hunt," captures the spectacle of the hunt with almost cinematic breadth. Editor: It’s brutal, but there’s something beautiful in how Wootton composes this chaotic scene. The diagonal lines pull your eye from the Viscount to the dogs, almost like an unfurling flag. Curator: The Viscount is portrayed so formally, almost aloof from the carnage around him. Do you see that black page there, I always think his presence suggests the complexity of wealth and power? Editor: Yes, the contrast certainly highlights the social dynamics. The stark light and shadow play emphasizes the page's isolation. Wootton's mastery lies in making all the formal elements speak so profoundly, the human and the animal. Curator: I agree; it’s a scene of raw power and refined elegance, forever linked. Editor: An unsettling, yet undeniably powerful, arrangement.